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 ...

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?

Living in shallow, tropical waters, mantis shrimp are armed with one hammer-like dactyl club on each side of its body. These clubs store energy in elastic, spring-like structures, which are held ...

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 ...

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

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 ...