Mantis Shrimp Breaks Speed Record

Photo © Jens Petersen / Wikipedia.

Mantis shrimp (Order Stomatopoda) are a group of marine crustaceans that possess powerful appendages enabling them to strike or spear their prey with overwhelming force. The mantis shrimp spearing and striking behavior captured the interest of UC Berkely biologist Sheila Patek, who set out to measure the speed at which mantis shrimp unfurl their appendages during an attack.

Dr. Patek and colleagues started by filming mantis shrimp using the video equipment on hand at the Berkely labs and soon found out that to capture the crustacean's speedy strikes they would need the most advanced high-speed video technology available today. So they partnered with a BBC film crew and were able to obtain the necessary equipment. With it, they recorded the speedy strike made by a peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) at an astonishing 20,000 frames per second. Analysis of the footage revealed a record breaker: the speed of the mantis shrimp's strike turned out to be the fastest recorded feeding strike in the animal kingdom. You can watch Sheila Patek discuss her research and present footage of the mantis shrimp strike over at the TED website.