Have you ever come across a shrimp capable of breaking glass?
Such a creature is the Mantis Shrimp.
Belonging to the crustacean family, Mantis shrimps are akin to crabs, rock lobsters, and other shrimp varieties.
Unique in the animal kingdom, they possess hyperspectral color vision, making them the only animals with such an ability, and their eyes are considered the most intricate. They have the capability to perceive ultraviolet, visible, and infra-red light, along with various planes of polarized light. The design of their eyes allows simultaneous vision through three distinct parts.
However, this shrimp possesses a punch that outpaces a bullet…and, as previously mentioned, it can indeed shatter glass.
An experiment once conducted involved placing a small crab inside a glass tube. Upon releasing the Mantis Shrimp, it delivered a punch to the glass in an attempt to reach the crab (its typical prey) and ultimately broke the glass where the unsuspecting crab resided.
Fishermen refer to them as ‘Thumb Splitters’ because, once ensnared in a net, the Mantis Shrimp begins to pinch at anything that moves, resulting in injuries to the fisherman’s hands—especially their thumbs.
by Eddie the Emu
