Faster than a speeding bullet!

I think we all know by now just how awesome mantis shrimp are when it comes to their incredible eyes, their yearly monogamy (see here), and their incredible strength with their modified claws:

Here are some new statistics on the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) from David Kisailus' lab at Univeristy of California, Riverside to rock your world:

• the mantis shrimp's fist can move up to 72 km/hr (That's faster than your average cat, and about the same speed as an African wild dog. But remember, a mantis shrimp is underwater!)

it's a tie!

• the fist reaches the above speed by accelerating faster than a .22-calibre bullet

(any Arrested Development fans out there?)

• moving that quickly, the water around a mantis shrimp's fist BOILS! Really!!

cavitation bubbles forming
(the arrows point to 'em in panels E, F, and G)

EXTREME!

Mind, consider yourself blown!

(David Kisailus is hoping to mimic the strength of mantis shrimps' fists to produce body armour that could withstand 50,000 bullets!  Thanks, Miranda, for the mantis facts!)