The mantis shrimp is a fearsome marine predator. Discover more about them and one clam's unlikely defense against their ...

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?

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 ...

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, these fists ...

Dactyl clubs are hammer-like structures located on each side of a mantis shrimp’s body. They store energy in elastic structures similar to springs that are latched in place by tendons. When the shrimp ...

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 ...