Shrimp

Hello! I am a snapping shrimp. Some people call me a pistol shrimp. I live in a cozy little home called a burrow under the big, blue sea. My family of shrimp was first written about a long, long time ago, in the year 1815. Look at my two claws. Do you see how one is big and one is small? My big claw is very special. It is my superpower, and it helps me every single day. I love my safe home in the sand, where I can hide and listen to the sounds of the ocean all around me. It is the perfect place for a little shrimp like me.

Do you want to know what my superpower is? I use my big claw to make a super snap. I close my claw so fast, it shoots a tiny bubble out into the water. The bubble goes super-fast, and then it bursts with a loud sound. POP. It is one of the loudest sounds in the whole ocean. That big POP helps me catch my dinner. When a little fish swims by, I snap my claw. The loud sound surprises the fish and makes it stop for a moment, so I can catch it. It is a very clever way to find my food.

Snapping shrimp may have limited vision and rely on their snapping mechanism to capture prey, but that is okay. I have a best friend who helps me. My friend is a goby fish. The goby fish has very good eyes and watches for anything that might be scary. If my friend sees danger, it wiggles its body to let me know it is time to hide in our burrow. I help my friend, too. I am a great digger, and I keep our burrow clean and tidy. By digging, I help make the seafloor a nice home for other sea creatures, and that is my special job in the ocean.