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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Fact of the Day for April 21, 1999
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What kind of shrimp can break glass with its claws?
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The predatory mantis shrimp catches its prey by stunning it with a
sudden chop from its claws. The striking force is so great that some
kinds of mantis shrimp can't be kept in ordinary aquariums, because
they easily break the glass with their powerful claws.
The claws of the mantis shrimp are among the fastest-moving animal
parts known. The force of impact can be almost as large as a bullet
fired from a gun. Divers call mantis shrimp "thumb splitters," and
there are divers who have lost fingers or thumbs to the shrimp's
ferocious chop.
Mantis shrimp are voracious predators. If they are kept in a
community tank with fish, all the fish will eventually be eaten by the
shrimp.
Underwater photographers can lose their lenses if they get too close:
http://home.mem.net/~zipper/mantis.htm
http://www.divernet.com/biolog/manti297.htm
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