Why is the meat of mantis shrimp so delicious? It turns out that it is trained through "boxing"!

Review expert: Liang Yujun, Associate Professor, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China

On the white sand under the coral reef, a blue-gray crab is crawling around, trying to prey on a conch not far away. The conch's shell is broken, and the snow-white and tender meat inside can be vaguely seen.

Just as the crab passed by a gap in the reef, a strange figure suddenly emerged from the crevice. The crab quickly retreated, and in a flash, its fat right claw fell off and floated in the sea water. Before it landed, it was taken away by the strange-looking creature that emerged from the crevice. The crab, which had lost one claw, fled in panic, not even caring about the conch.

This strange creature that knocked down the crab's right claw in the blink of an eye is a famous boxer in the ocean, the mantis shrimp, whose punches are as fast as lightning.

Source: http://k.sina.com.cn/

The strongest boxer in the sea

Although mantis shrimp is called shrimp, it is actually very different from shrimp and crab. Mantis shrimp belongs to the phylum Arthropoda, class Soft Shell, subclass Prawn, order Stomatopoda, while real shrimp and crab belong to the order Decapoda under the class Soft Shell. At the same time, although it is called "mantis" shrimp, it is also very distantly related to mantises. It can only be said that they are distant relatives of the same phylum Arthropoda.

According to the different structures of their capturing feet, mantis shrimps are divided into two types: piercing type and hammering type . The capturing feet of the piercing type mantis shrimp are very similar to those of a real mantis, while the capturing feet of the hammering type mantis shrimp have a tip that is like a cone and a hard hammer-like structure at the first joint from the end. This is the mantis shrimp's "indestructible" weapon.

In addition to the piercing mantis shrimp commonly seen in the vegetable market, whenever we mention the "powerful mantis shrimp", we are often talking about the brightly colored star among the hammering mantis shrimp - the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus). Their appearance is very colorful and they are named because of the way their front legs are retracted and their eyes resemble mantises, as well as the tail feathers similar to those of a male peacock.

Mantis shrimp source: Wikipedia

According to relevant experimental data, the peacock mantis shrimp can throw a punch in about one-fiftieth of a second, with a speed of up to 80km/h and an instantaneous acceleration of up to an astonishing 20km/s², which is equivalent to a .22-inch caliber pistol. When it hits an object, it can generate an impact force of about 60kg. At the same time, due to the small contact area and high energy density, this punch will also cause cavitation in the water body. The moment the cavitation bursts, a powerful shock wave will be generated and an imperceptible light will be emitted. This phenomenon is also called sonoluminescence . The heat generated during this period can instantly heat the water temperature to 6700℃! This pair of deadly fists has shaped the ferocious character of the mantis shrimp, making it a very dangerous predator on the seabed. It can easily penetrate the shells of clams, crabs, conchs and other animals. Various smaller marine creatures are vulnerable in front of the mantis shrimp. Even in the face of large fish, it will fight back fearlessly, often making the creatures that try to prey on it return empty-handed or pay a heavy price. Even the terrifying upright ape, which can be kept as an ornamental creature in a fish tank or placed on the dining table, can suffer losses from it if you are not careful.

A foreign guy who went fishing alone on the sea caught a hammer-type mantis shrimp and threw it on the boat. As a result, the shrimp hit his new boots, which he had only worn twice. The fabric of the boots was pierced, and a small hole was gouged on the instep of the guy's left foot, with blood gushing out.

Source: Bilibili @柚子木字幕组

Why are mantis shrimps so powerful?

Mantis shrimp mainly rely on the two red capturing feet on the front of their body to launch attacks. The surface of the capturing feet is covered with dense hydroxyapatite, which is also the main component of some bones in our body (such as femur and tooth crown). It is harder than pure iron. With the extremely high fist speed of the mantis shrimp, the capturing feet can directly smash a small shell into scattered fragments.

The mantis shrimp's rapid punching speed is mainly due to the special structure of the muscle connected to the capture foot. This muscle can continuously contract, and the process of contraction is also a process of accumulating force. When it reaches the limit, there will be a device similar to a door latch to hold the muscle to prevent it from popping out. The state of the mantis shrimp's two sweeping feet with full force is more like two crossbows with arrows on the string or a loaded pistol. When the time is right, pull the trigger, and the sweeping foot will pop out immediately, converting the accumulated elastic potential energy into mechanical energy and instantly pouring it on the object being hit. Such a punch can generate a force of about 1,500 Newtons, which is equivalent to thousands of times the mantis shrimp's own weight.

So the question is, according to Newton's third law, the mantis shrimp itself will also be subjected to the same force, but looking at its thin arms and legs, can it withstand it?

Of course, since they rely on this set of boxing skills to make a living, the mantis shrimp must have done a lot of work in the long process of evolution. The figure below is a schematic diagram of the structure of the peacock mantis shrimp's catching foot. When the mantis shrimp retracts the catching foot, the thorn at point B will get stuck in the catching foot, and then the S part - a small double paraboloid structure (also called a saddle-shaped structure) of muscle will begin to contract and accumulate strength. This peculiar structure has extremely high strength and can withstand both compression and extrusion forces. The mantis shrimp relies on this peculiar muscle to accumulate amazing strength, and relies on the complex layered structure in the shell to withstand the huge reaction force, so that it can crush its prey without any injury.

Source: N. Patek, BN Nowroozi, JE Baio, RL Caldwell, AP Summers; Linkage mechanics and power amplification of the mantis shrimp's strike. J Exp Biol 15 October 2007; 210 (20): 3677–3688.

In addition to its terrifying fists, the mantis shrimp has another "bug" skill: its eyes can see 16 primary colors. At the same time, the mantis shrimp can also keenly detect polarized light reflected by objects. Once a suitable prey swims in front of it, it can immediately detect it and give a fatal blow.

Mantis shrimp on the table

As a predator, mantis shrimp is undoubtedly quite powerful, but at the same time, as powerful as mantis shrimp is, it is bound to end up on the human table. Mantis shrimp is also a very delicious seafood, with more than 400 species worldwide. As seafood, mantis shrimp (also called mantis shrimp) often appears in seafood markets. The common species in the north are mostly mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria), all of which are members of the mantis shrimp family.

The mantis shrimp is a piercing mantis shrimp, with a body length of more than ten centimeters. It does not have the bright and ostentatious appearance of the peacock mantis shrimp. It is milky white in appearance and very inconspicuous, but its tail is often brightly colored. There are also some larger mantis shrimps such as Lysiosquillina maculata and Harpiosquilla raphidea, one of which is as long as an adult's forearm, and their meat is very delicious.

Cooked mantis shrimp

Source: pixabay

As the saying goes, top-quality ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods. For small mantis shrimp, simply steaming or frying them and then sprinkling a little pepper and salt will perfectly bring out their delicious taste. For large mantis shrimp, opening the back and steaming them with garlic vermicelli is a good way to eat them.

However, it is worth noting that although mantis shrimps are delicious, their shells are very tough, and there are many hard spikes on their heads, tails, and legs, which make them difficult to handle. If you are not careful, you may get your hands pricked, so you must pay more attention when peeling the shells.