Courtesy of the Department of Applied Physics, University of Twente
Click either choice below to hear the snapping shrimp at normal speed:
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Snapping sounds produced by the snapping shrimp recorded dockside in the Bahamas. Courtesy of Paul Perkins, NUWC Engineering, Test and Evaluation Department
Click either choice below to hear the snapping shrimp at half-speed:
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Snapping and popping sounds produced by the same shrimp recorded above, however the playback speed is reduced to half to demonstrate the high frequency of the snaps and pops. Courtesy of Paul Perkins, NUWC Engineering, Test and Evaluation Department
Snapping shrimp are crustaceans that are found in tropical and temperate seas. These shrimp, usually a muddy green color, grow to about 5 cm (2 inches) long. Their most noticeable physical feature is a claw that can grow to be half the size of the entire body length. It is this claw that gives snapping shrimp their most remarkable attribute. A snapping shrimp will quickly close its claw to produce a loud "snap" as a way to stun its prey, deter predators, and communicate with others. For at least one species of snapping shrimp, the actual sound is generated by the formation and subsequent popping of a bubble, and not by the physical contact of the claw striking together. The bubble appears when the shrimp closes the two parts of the enlarged claw at lightning speed, causing the water to cavitate. (See How do marine invertebrates produce sounds?) Researchers have also found that light is produced when the bubble pops due to the high temperatures and pressure inside the bubble. Alpheus heterochaelis is the only known species to produce sound using this cavitation process. The combined sound of large aggregations of snapping shrimp is so prevalent in certain areas of the world that it interferes with the sonar of naval vessels. (See Sonar)
References
Brown, K. 2000. For certain shrimp, life's a snap. Science 289 (5487): 2020-2021.
Lohse, D., Schmitz, B. and Versluis, M. 2001. Snapping Shrimp make flashing bubbles. Nature 413: 477-478.
Versluis, M., Schmitz, B., von der Heydt, A. and Lohse, D. 2000. How Snapping Shrimp snap: through cavitating bubbles. Science 289 (5487): 2114-2117.
