The shot of the mantis shrimp

The peacock mantis shrimp ( Odontactylus scyallarus ) has two club-shaped claws with which it can strike rivals or prey with terrifying speed and force.

The energy released by this shot has been compared to that of a bullet fired from a small-caliber pistol.

But what does the mantis shrimp do with such a powerful blow? It smashes the shells of its prey.

In the video we see her busy cracking a clam to eat it.

In my photo, he's eating a venomous sea snake, Laticauda colubrina . When I approached the scene, the snake was already dead. I can't rule out the possibility that the mantis shrimp found it dead, but its blow to the head could easily break the snake's bones, perhaps as it pokes its head into every hole in its body, searching for prey.

An article of mine on the extraordinary abilities of these crustaceans is in Scubazone n. 4

Massimo Boyer

Marine biologist, underwater photographer, writer, tour operator, instructor, and guide. Excellent knowledge of the Indonesian seabed. Author of four books: Underwater Nature Photography: Technique, Art, and Science, Scylla. Story of a Great White Shark, The Underwater Photographer's Diary. Become an Underwater Photographer in 12 Months, Atlas of Reef Flora and Fauna, and over 500 articles on diving. He teaches Underwater Photography at the University of Genoa and collaborates with the Polytechnic University of Marche and the University of Milan-Bicocca. https://rubrica.unige.it/personale/UkJFXVpo