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Mantis Shrimps

Syllabus:

GS3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context:  A team of researchers from the US and France found that the mantis shrimps can block or control mechanical waves to avoid hurting themselves when they strike their prey.

Key Findings

  • The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, are the first to demonstrate passive underwater global positioning (GPS) using the polarisation properties of underwater light.
  • The researcher investigated this behaviour by sending waves through the structure and analysed how they interacted with the material.
  • The mantis shrimp's remarkable self-protection in a specialized microstructure within its dactyl club. 
  • This structure exhibits phononic shielding — a unique ability that dampens the flow of acoustic waves, thereby reducing the recoil the shrimp experiences during its high-speed strikes.
  • These shrimps use a hammer-shaped appendage called the dactyl club or Raptorial appendage to strike their prey at a blistering 23 m/s (about 50 times faster than the blink of an eye). 
  • The strike releases enough energy to send small shockwaves through the surrounding water, still the mantis shrimp remains unharmed.

Dynamic mechanical behaviour

  • The mantis shrimp’s dactyl club stores energy in spring-like elastic structures, which are held by latch-like tendons and release suddenly to deliver a powerful, rapid strike.
  • As the club punches forward, it displaces surrounding water and creates low-pressure zones where the water turns into vapor, forming bubbles in the shrimp’s path.
  • These vapor bubbles collapse quickly under water pressure, releasing intense heat and shockwaves that can reach frequencies of hundreds of megahertz.
  • Each strike delivers two powerful blows: one from the club itself and another from the collapsing bubbles, allowing the mantis shrimp to break tough prey shells easily.

Self-protection of the Shrimps 

  • The researchers found that the dactyl club was capable of phononic shielding.
  • This shield, a multi-layered structure, selectively filters out damaging shockwaves, allowing the shrimp to strike with bullet-like speed without breaking their exoskeleton. 
  • The team fired laser pulses at the microstructure in a rapid sequence that illuminated its response at less than one-billionth of a second at a time.

Mantis Shrimps

  • Mantis shrimp are ancient marine crustaceans from the order Stomatopoda, especially members of the genus Squilla. 
  • There are over 450 known species, ranging in size from about 10 cm to nearly 46 cm. 
  • They're known for their bright colors, interesting behavior, and strong limbs used for hunting. Even though they're called shrimp, mantis shrimp aren't real shrimp.
  • Mantis shrimp are not generally listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a whole group, but individual species within the order may be assessed individually.
  • Mantis shrimp are primarily found in shallow, tropical and subtropical marine waters, often near coral reefs and sandy areas, particularly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  

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