News– Researchers from the School of Industrial Fisheries at Cochin University of Science and Technology discovered a new pistol shrimp species in Kochi backwaters.
About Pistol Shrimp
- The Pistol Shrimp, also known as the Snapping Shrimp, is a marine crustacean classified under the family Alpheidae.
- It has one disproportionately large claw that can generate an intense underwater shockwave.
- The snapping mechanism produces a cavitation bubble rather than firing a solid object.
- When this bubble collapses, it causes sonoluminescence, resulting in a brief flash of light.
- The temperature within the collapsing bubble may rise to nearly 4,400°C, comparable to the surface temperature of the Sun.
- The snapping sound can reach approximately 218 decibels, ranking among the loudest biological noises in marine environments.
- These shrimps are widely distributed worldwide, particularly in tropical and temperate coral reefs and seagrass habitats; they typically inhabit burrows and, in some species, form mutualistic associations with goby fishes.
