Espinosa, the study’s co-corresponding author. Mantis shrimp live in shallow tropical waters. These marine creatures are armed with hammer-like clubs called dactyls or fists. These clubs store ...

Dactyl clubs are hammer-like structures located on each side of a mantis shrimp’s body. They store energy in elastic ...

There are plenty of scary creatures on Earth (and especially in the ocean), but one of the most powerful might come as a surprise. After all, it's pretty tiny.

The mantis shrimp's club uses a built-in vibration shield that filters out damaging shock waves to enable it to strike with ...

Forget about Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali, the fastest punch in the world belongs to the mantis shrimp. This shrimp can smash a shell with the force of a .22 caliber bullet and remain intact despite the ...

Meanwhile “smashers” like the peacock mantis shrimp use their hammer-like claws to attack their hard-shelled prey—such as crabs and clams—with a powerful punch. So how does that punch work?

The mantis shrimp comes equipped with its own weapons. It has claws that look like permanently clenched fists that are known as dactyl clubs. But when it smashes the shells of its prey ...

With a single blow, a mantis shrimp can kill prey or defend its territory against rivals. A study published in Science explores the mechanisms that allow the mantis shrimp's striking limb to ...

A mantis shrimp's punch creates high-energy waves. Its exoskeleton is designed to absorb that energy, preventing cracking and tissue damage.

Powerful punch Peacock mantis shrimp use a complex system of biological latches and springs in their dactyl clubs to unleash a punch at a speed of 75 feet per second (23 meters per second ...