World’s toughest species of shrimp ‘so hard they can crack glass aquarium tanks’
EXPERTS have identified the world’s toughest species of shrimp — skinheads of the seabed who are so hard they can crack glass aquarium tanks.
The so-called “prawn killers” have clubs for claws and smash their way into rivals’ burrows, striking at speeds faster than a bullet.
The crazed crustaceans stake out opponents’ homes in coral rubble before sending shell-shocked victims packing, a study shows.
Growing to over a foot long, the carnivores are a type of mantis shrimp known as “smashers” because of the club-like appendage that can kill prey and rivals.
They even create a flash of light by vapourising water with their fierce blows — and can cause painful gashes to humans.
But deep down the Shell’s Angels are bullies — more likely to pile in if their rivals are smaller, scientists at the University of Exeter and Duke University in the US found.
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Exeter’s Dr Patrick Green said: “As a smaller burrow is probably occupied by a smaller opponent, it seems mantis shrimps will compromise on the size of the home if it means an easier fight.”
Dr Green said the strikes can accelerate as fast as a bullet, reach a speed of more than 50 miles per hour and even create a flash of light by vapourising water upon contact.
The shrimps were collected off the Caribbean coast of Panama.
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