SNAPPING SHRIMP SNAP THEIR CLAWS with speeds so fast they create shockwaves in the water (cavitation bubbles, in scientific parley) that implode with immense energy, resulting in those cracking sounds. How the little guys do it wasn’t clear. Now a team of scientists has used micro-computed tomography, high-speed video and 3-D printed scale models to figure it out. NEW CLAW DYNAMICS Analyzing the claw dynamics of 114 species of shrimps, they found two previously unrecognized
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WHO KNEW? DECORATOR CRABS use a sort of crustacean Velcro to attach stuff to their bodies, as explained in this video –“Decorator Crabs Make High Fashion at Low Tide” – by the terrific PBS project Deep Look.
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SCIENTISTS IDENTIFYING A NEW SPECIES OF PISTOL SHRIMP is interesting but not astounding, since discoveries like this continually advance our understanding of the web of life. UNLESS…The researchers name the new species after the iconic prog rock band Pink Floyd. That’s what a team of marine naturalists from the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil did with the newly identified Synalpheus pinkfloydi, which they found in Pacific waters off the coast of Panama. A
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SEA SPIDERS ARE CREATURES WITH LONG LEGS radiating from tiny central bodies. In a class of marine arthropods called Pycnogonida, they’re found in more than 1,300 species in oceans all over the world LOOKS SIMILAR, WORKS VERY DIFFERENTLY The only association they have with terrestrial spiders is … a physical appearance of long legs and tiny central bodies. Other than that, they are totally unlike real spiders, or anything else, for that matter. IT’S ALL IN
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MANTIS SHRIMPS ARE HOT. Not as hot as sharks and manta rays always are, but in recent years they’ve been experiencing a flurry of attention, from a NatGeo special – “KILLER SHRIMP” (naturally) – to a spate of research looking at their speed of attack, strength and visual acuity. Despite their common nomenclature, mantis shrimps are neither shrimps nor assassins of divers or other human beings. They are highly efficient predators of other marine animals, they’re strong, tough
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