The Animal With The Most Powerful Punch Could Fit Inside Your Pocket

It kills its prey with a single punch, it can see ultraviolet light, it's older than the dinosaurs, and it's only 1 to 7 inches long. It's the peacock mantis shrimp, and despite its diminutive nature, it is arguably the most intimidating and flat-out impressive creature on Earth.

Technically speaking, mantis shrimp are not actually shrimp. They belong to their own order called stomatopoda, although they are closely related to shrimp, as well as other crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs. There are over 400 species of mantis shrimp, distributed throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where they thrive in warm, shallow waters and coral reefs. Peacock mantis shrimp are arguably the best-known species, named for their vibrant colors, which attract many nature photographers and documentarians.

Mantis shrimp are called such because their two forearms resemble parts of a praying mantis. All mantis shrimp can broadly be grouped into two categories based on the nature of these limbs. In the first category are "spearers," which have a set of sharp barbs on their forearms that they use to impale passing fish. In the second category are "smashers," which have hammer-shaped claws on their forearms that they use to knock out their prey. The peacock mantis shrimp is one of the smasher species, and it packs the most powerful punch in the animal kingdom.

Mantis shrimp keep their forearms tucked under their body, compressing their muscles to load potential energy until it is time to strike. Then, they launch their claws forward at the blinding speed of 75 feet per second, connecting with their target in one-fiftieth of the time it takes to blink. This translates into a force roughly equal to firing a .22 caliber bullet.

The mantis shrimp punches so swiftly that it generates cavitation bubbles, a phenomenon more commonly seen from boat propellers. The bubbles collapse almost as soon as they are created, generating shockwaves through the water that only serve to enhance the power of the punch. The energy released by these collapsing cavitation bubbles is so much that you can see a flash of light when the mantis shrimp strikes.

Smashers like the peacock mantis shrimp can punch with 1,500 newtons of force despite weighing just a pound and a half, making them the ultimate featherweight champions. They're strong enough to break through aquarium glass. If you gave an adult human the equivalent force per body mass, they could punch through a steel wall. Smasher mantis shrimps' punching power plays a key role in their diet, which consists of crustaceans and mollusks like crabs and clams. Hard shells are key to crustacean defense systems, but with a lighting strike, a mantis shrimp can punch the life right out of its prey, and shatter their shells to expose their meat.

The mantis shrimp's forceful punch is far from its only remarkable trait. These creatures are basically real-world superheroes, possessing an array of powers you'd expect to see in a Marvel movie rather than a nature show. Even more astounding than their strength is their vision, as they have the most complex eyes of any animal on Earth. They have compound eyes, but they are vastly more complex than insect compound eyes.

Each of the mantis shrimp's eyes has three main layers, appearing like bands across the eyeball. As such, each eye is essentially three eyes combined. The significance of that is that, while humans, and every other animal for that matter, can only perceive depth by using both eyes, a mantis shrimp can sense depth with just one. Each eye can move independently, perched on the end of stalks, giving them a near-360-degree field of vision.

Mantis shrimp can see a whole array of colors that human beings cannot even imagine. They have 12 types of color photoreceptors (also known as cones) in their eyes as opposed to humans, who only have three. Mantis shrimp can also see electromagnetic wavelengths that are imperceptible to human beings, including ultraviolet light. In a feat straight out of science fiction, mantis shrimp can even see cancer cells, which reflect light differently than other cells, but in a way we humans can't see. This has inspired scientists to design cameras for medical research based on the mantis shrimp's eyes.

Mantis shrimp are fiercely territorial, and they will use their punches to fend off anything that invades their space or threatens their safety. This can include human beings. In a study published by The Journal of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine, researchers interviewed a series of fishermen who had experienced run-ins with mantis shrimp, either when moving through shallow waters, or when the stomatopods got caught in their nets, and needed to be freed. Five of these fishermen reported being struck by mantis shrimp, resulting in lacerations that could cause pain for days on end.

The internet is peppered with videos of humans encountering mantis shrimp, and swiftly learning not to mess with them. In a particularly dramatic video posted to YouTube in 2021, a kayaker accidentally fishes up a mantis shrimp. When he tries to return the animal to the water, it strikes his foot, punching straight through the rubber of his boot and drawing blood (needless to say, those uncomfortable with the sight of blood should avoid watching). This should provide a clear lesson to all of us. Mantis shrimp don't mess around, so if you see those beautiful colors in the water, get back fast before it gets you faster.