This is Why the Pistol Shrimp is Immune to its Own Powerful Shock Waves
upstart writes:
This is why the pistol shrimp is immune to its own powerful shock waves:
The tiny-but-mighty pistol shrimp can snap its claws with sufficient force to produce a shock wave to stun its prey. So how come the shrimp appears immune to its sonic weapon? Scientists have concluded that the shrimp is protected by a tiny clear helmet that protects the creature from any significant neural damage by damping the shock waves, according to a recent paper published in the journal Current Biology.
The snapping shrimp, aka the pistol shrimp, is one of the loudest creatures in the ocean, along with the sperm whale and beluga whale. When enough of these shrimp snap at once, the noise can dominate the coastal ocean soundscape, sometimes confusing sonar instruments. The source of that snap: an impressive set of asymmetrically sized claws; the larger of the two produces the snap.
[...] What makes the orbital hoods such effective dampeners? The hoods have an opening at the anterior end, and there's a layer of water between the surface of the hoods' interior and the shrimp eyes. "We propose that when a shock wave strikes an orbital hood, the rapid changes in pressure cause the water underneath it to be expelled through the anterior opening, away from the head of the shrimp," the authors wrote. "Through the expulsion of water, some of the kinetic energy of the shock wave may be redirected and released."
Journal Reference:
Alexandra C.N. Kingston, Sarah A. Woodin, David S. Wethey, and Daniel I. Speiser, Snapping shrimp have helmets that protect their brains by dampening shock waves, Curr Biology, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.042
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