Shrimp

Hello there. I am a snapping shrimp, though some call me a pistol shrimp. My home includes busy, colorful coral reefs, as well as seagrass beds, oyster reefs, and muddy estuaries, full of nooks and crannies that make perfect hiding spots. If you were to see me, you might notice something odd. My two front claws are not a matching pair. One is small and delicate, perfect for grabbing bits of food. But my other claw is enormous and is much bigger than my other claw, often measuring half the length of my body. It looks a little funny, but this giant claw holds a secret so powerful it makes me one of the loudest animals in the entire ocean.

My giant claw is my most important tool, but I don’t use it for pinching. Instead, I use it to hunt. I open the claw and snap it shut so incredibly fast that it shoots a powerful jet of water forward. This jet moves so quickly it creates a tiny, special air bubble. When that bubble pops just a moment later, it makes a huge BANG. The sound is so loud and forceful that it stuns any small fish or crabs that happen to be nearby, making it easy for me to grab my dinner. For a long time, that was all anyone knew about my snap. But in 2001, scientists discovered something truly amazing. For the split second that my bubble pops, it creates a tiny flash of light and reaches temperatures comparable to the surface of the sun. Imagine that, a tiny star created right here in the ocean.

For all my power, I do have one big weakness: my eyesight isn't very good. It’s hard to see predators coming when the world is a bit blurry. That’s why I have a very special friendship with a goby fish. We have a deal that helps us both stay safe. I am an excellent digger, so I create a cozy burrow in the sand that is big enough for both of us to live in. The goby can’t dig a home like this, so it gets a safe place to hide. In return, the goby becomes my personal bodyguard. Whenever we are outside our burrow, I rest one of my long feelers, called antennae, on the goby’s tail. If the goby sees danger, it gives its tail a quick flick, and that’s my signal. We both dive back into our burrow in a flash before any predator can get to us.

I am not the only snapping shrimp on the reef. There are thousands of us living here, and we are all busy snapping our claws day and night to hunt or defend our homes. Snapping shrimp are active both day and night, but their snapping frequency may vary depending on environmental conditions. When you put all of our snaps together, it creates a constant crackling noise, almost like the sound of a roaring campfire underwater. This sound is surprisingly loud. In fact, during World War II in the 1940s, sailors on submarines made an incredible discovery. They realized that the crackling sound made by colonies of shrimp like mine was so loud that it could actually hide their submarines from the enemy’s underwater listening devices. We were like a natural shield of sound for them.

My story continues today, as I and countless other snapping shrimp still live in the world’s oceans. My constant digging and burrowing may seem small, but it’s a very important job. By stirring up the sand and mud, I help circulate nutrients and keep the seafloor healthy for all of my neighbors. Even though I am just a tiny shrimp, my powerful snap and my friendship with the goby show that every creature has a special role to play. I am a tiny sound engineer, helping to shape the amazing and noisy world beneath the waves.