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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bomb here. Amanda's shrimp is not your average shrimp.

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Speaker 1: In fact, it's not technically a shrimp at all. It's

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Speaker 1: what's known as a stamatopod, crustacean only distantly related to

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Speaker 1: the shrimp, and this stematopod is deadly. The cigar sized

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Speaker 1: manta shrimp packs a surprisingly big punch with raptorial appendages

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Speaker 1: and fierce muscles that can deliver a sixty mile per

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Speaker 1: hour blow that's over nine per hour. Basically, this punch

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Speaker 1: is so speedy that it forms cavitation bubbles that creates

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Speaker 1: such intense shock waves that the bubbles alone can stun

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Speaker 1: or kill prey instantly or crush aquarium glass. And if

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Speaker 1: defending itself, Amanda's shrimp could cut through a human's finger

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Speaker 1: within milliseconds, an injury that can necessitate amputation. That's why

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Speaker 1: marine biologist Katie Watson says it's best to keep distance.

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Speaker 1: She said, nicknamed the thumb splitter, they can cause painful

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Speaker 1: injuries if they're not treated with care. They can also

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Speaker 1: shatter fins or a camera lens, so don't get too

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Speaker 1: close and as a fundamental rule of diving, look but

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Speaker 1: don't touch. Muscle power is only one factor behind the

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Speaker 1: Mandas shrimp's ferocity. The crustacean has a system of biological springs, latches,

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Speaker 1: and levers that work in tandem to deliver piercing strikes.

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Speaker 1: This is the fastest limb movement in the animal kingdom,

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Speaker 1: says Watson. But that's not all. Manda's shrimp eyes are

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Speaker 1: a scientific wonder. Like all crustaceans, they have compound eyes,

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Speaker 1: but further than that, they have the most complex visual

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Speaker 1: system in the known world, with up to sixteen photo

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Speaker 1: receptors and the ability to see ultraviolet, visible and polarized light.

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Speaker 1: They're the only animals known to see circularly polarized light,

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Speaker 1: and they can see colors and images accessible to no

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Speaker 1: other animal on Earth. And that complex visual system is

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Speaker 1: the mantus shrimp's key for communication. Since the crustaceans have

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Speaker 1: the power to see and alter polarized light that other

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Speaker 1: animals can't, they use this light manipulation to communicate, almost

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Speaker 1: like a secret code. In research published in the journal

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Speaker 1: Scientific Reports in the researchers discovered that mantus shrimp polarizers

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Speaker 1: alter light across a structure, not through its depth like

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Speaker 1: typical polarizers. Most other creatures can't see this type of light,

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Speaker 1: so those that use it are less likely to attract

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Speaker 1: predators or those competing for food. This realization was more

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Speaker 1: than just mind blowing. Scientists say it could lead to

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Speaker 1: new optical human technologies across everything from cameras to sunglasses.

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Speaker 1: But mantus shrimp also speak through rumbles. At dawn and dusk,

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Speaker 1: mandus shrimp make rumbling, growling grunt noises to defend their

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Speaker 1: territory and attract mates. Researchers describe this as a low

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Speaker 1: frequency rumbling that's created via muscle vibrations. Fellow manta shrimp

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Speaker 1: here those rumbles through sensory body hairs. So far, scientists

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Speaker 1: have only witnessed males producing these sounds, though manta shrimp

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Speaker 1: colors run the gamut from browns to vibrant reds, blues,

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Speaker 1: and greens. Some species are even biofluorescent, a trait that

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Speaker 1: lets the crustacean absorb blue light as it hits their bodies,

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Speaker 1: then re emit it as a different color. Watson said

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Speaker 1: the wavelengths of their fluorescent coloration travels better under water

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Speaker 1: than color pigmentation, The fluorescence increases the apparent size of

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Speaker 1: the manta shrimp, which helps attract females during mating and

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Speaker 1: warns off competitive males. She also noted that this illumination

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Speaker 1: may attract prey, but research to prove the phenomenon is ongoing.

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Speaker 1: Despite all their fascinating qualities, though you'll rarely see manta

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Speaker 1: shrimp at aquariums, but back in two thousand one, too,

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Speaker 1: manta shrimps sneakily made their way into the Monterey Bay

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Speaker 1: Aquarium by hitchhiking on imported rocks. The result was like

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Speaker 1: a Sci Fi thriller. Crabs, snails, and barnacles essential to

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Speaker 1: the aquarium ecosystem and filtration went missing. But the aquarium

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Speaker 1: couldn't put its workers at risk trying to catch the

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Speaker 1: manta shrimp bare handed. Instead, they had metal tongs at

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Speaker 1: the ready to grab the shrimp when exposed, then place

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Speaker 1: it with another manta shrimp that snagged the year prior.

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Speaker 1: And this is not an uncommon scene when manta shrimp

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Speaker 1: sneak into aquariums. That's why the crustacean is rarely kept

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Speaker 1: in captivity when they are aquariums need shattered proof, acrylic

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Speaker 1: blast and a tank free of critters. Given their threatening traits,

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Speaker 1: and the chance of actually seeing one in nature is

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Speaker 1: also pretty low. Manta shrimp are remarkable hiders. They spend

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Speaker 1: most of their time tucked away in rocky and sandy burrows.

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Speaker 1: Manta shrimp prefers shallow marine waters, mostly in tropical and

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Speaker 1: subtropical regions. They can also live in coral reefs or

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Speaker 1: rock crevices. These habitats are ideal hunting grounds. The manta

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Speaker 1: shrimp stays tucked away until prey gets close, then boom.

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Speaker 1: It strikes instantly, kills and feasts all in mere seconds. However,

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Speaker 1: Earth's warming oceans threaten nearly all sea life, and the

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Speaker 1: manta shrimp is not spared. Watson said. Calcified marine organisms

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Speaker 1: like the manta shrimp face a double edged sword as

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Speaker 1: climate change is projected to increase ocean warming and acidification.

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Speaker 1: This is predicted to result in increased energy demands, growth restriction,

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Speaker 1: physiological stress, and changes in mineralization. For manta shrimp to

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Speaker 1: maintain the integrity of their highly specialized weapon, appendage, precise

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Speaker 1: mineral composition and mechanical properties in different layers of exoskeleton

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Speaker 1: are needed. She said that some research indicates that manta

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Speaker 1: shrimp can tolerate long term increases in temperature and a certification,

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Speaker 1: but the degradation of coral reefs paired with over fishing

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Speaker 1: could affect them just like other reef dwellers lost habitat

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Speaker 1: and decreased vertebrate and invertebrate diversity. Just another reason to

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Speaker 1: support personal and public policies to help mitigate climate change.

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Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Stephanie Vermillion and produced by

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Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more in this and lots of other

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Speaker 1: punchy topics, visit houstuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is

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