Skip to main content
See More

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Biomechanics

Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp

Nature volume 428, pages 819–820 (2004)Cite this article

This shrimp packs a punch powerful enough to smash its prey's shell underwater.

Abstract

Stomatopods (mantis shrimp) are well known for the feeding appendages they use to smash shells and impale fish. Here we show that the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) generates an extremely fast strike that requires major energy storage and release, which we explain in terms of a saddle-shaped exoskeletal spring mechanism. High-speed images reveal the formation and collapse of vapour bubbles next to the prey due to swift movement of the appendage towards it, indicating that O. scyllarus may use destructive cavitation forces to damage its prey.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The mechanics of a stomatopod strike.
Figure 2: The mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus strikes a snail.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Burrows, M. Zeit. Vergl. Physiol. 62, 361–381 (1969).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Burrows, M. & Hoyle, G. J. Exp. Zool. 179, 379–394 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Alexander, R. M. & Bennet-Clark, H. C. Nature 265, 114–117 (1977).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bennet-Clark, H. C. in The Insect Integument (ed. Hepburn, H. R.) 421–443 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Gronenberg, W. J. Comp. Phys. A 178, 727–734 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Alexander, R. M. Comp. Biochem. Phys. A 133, 1001–1011 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Brennen, C. E. Cavitation and Bubble Dynamics (Oxford University Press, New York, 1995).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Lohse, D., Schmitz, B. & Versluis, M. Nature 413, 477–478 (2001).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Versluis, M., Schmitz, B. von der Heydt, A. & Lohse, D. Science 289, 2114–2117 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Currey, J. D., Nash, A. & Bonfield, W. J. Mater. Sci. 17, 1939–1944 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3140, California, USA

    S. N. Patek, W. L. Korff & R. L. Caldwell

Authors
  1. S. N. Patek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. L. Korff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. L. Caldwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. N. Patek.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Methods

These supplementary methods describe the calculations used to approximate the energy storage and release required by the mantis shrimp’s strike and to demonstrate the need for a specialized spring in the mantis shrimp’s raptorial appendage. (DOC 40 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Patek, S., Korff, W. & Caldwell, R. Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp. Nature 428, 819–820 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/428819a

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/428819a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing