If you were asked to name the loudest animals on the planet,, you’d likely turn to larger species.
You wouldn’t be entirely wrong as some of the loudest animals are indeed very large, and larger animals tend to have bigger vocal chords and resonating chambers in their bodies, which can produce louder sounds.
But, the perceived correlation between size and volume won’t be a winning equation for guessing who takes the crown.
In the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, as well as off the coasts of Australia and East Africa, a tiny shrimp the size of a finger triumphs – The pistol shrimp.
You could say that the pistol shrimp has a superpower. Their powerful snapping claws that snap as fast as a bullet. The snap is so fast, it creates a bubble, and inside it, is a real explosion.
The temperature in this bubble rises to 4,7000°C, almost as hot as the surface of the sun. At that particular moment, there’s a snap of 218 decibels, as loud as a nuclear bomb explosion.
This snap sends out a shockwave, instantly stunning or even killing its prey.
Researchers have studied the small crustaceans claw mechanism to develop underwater robots with similar capabilities, such as generating powerful jets of water for tasks like cleaning or cutting.
Pistol shrimp can be found in a variety of shallow marine environments, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and rocky bottoms. They’re a significant source of noise in the ocean and their noise can interfere with sonar and underwater communication.
The creature is undetectable on a map, but its snaps are detected by military hydrophones on submarines.
However, it’s not much for us to worry about as, while extremely loud, the sound is also very short-lived, and its impact on humans is lessened because it’s underwater.