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How Mantis Shrimp Punch So Hard

By Roni Dengler
Oct 18, 2018 9:23 PMMay 21, 2019 6:00 PM
mantis shrimp
A mantis shrimp, fists at the ready. (Credit: Beverly Speed/Shutterstock)

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Mantis shrimp — four-inch long seafloor crustaceans — knock out prey with a punch that accelerates faster than a .22 caliber bullet. Now, researchers have figured out exactly how the tiny stomatopods wind up their forceful blows. It’s all thanks to a double-layered saddle-shaped spring made from surprisingly brittle material.

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