News Animals

The fastest claw in the sea belongs to young snapping shrimp

The whippersnappers can generate accelerations 20 times those of adult shrimp

A juvenile bigclaw snapping shrimp in a lab dish next to a ruler

When juvenile bigclaw snapping shrimp (Alpheus heterochaelis) reach about 30 days old (one shown), they start striking their powerful claws.

J. Harrison

By Jake Buehler

Full-grown snapping shrimp were already known to have some of the fastest claws under the waves. But it turns out they’re nothing compared with their kids. 

Juvenile snapping shrimp produce the highest known underwater accelerations of any reusable body part, researchers report February 28 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. While