Pistol Shrimp: The Smallest, Loudest Creature on Earth

You might imagine lions or elephants as the loudest animals, but a creature just 5 centimeters long produces a sound that surpasses even that of an airplane.

The pistol shrimp, with its special 'super-claw,' can snap it shut at a speed of 100 km/h, creating a water bubble that bursts with a force of 218 decibels. This is much louder than a jet taking off, which reaches about 140 decibels.

The explosion of this bubble can paralyze or kill small marine creatures, and for a moment the temperature reaches 4,700°C, as hot as the surface of the Sun.

Pistol shrimp use this mechanism to hunt, defend themselves, and communicate. They live in coral reefs and other marine ecosystems, and their sound is so intense that it can even confuse military sonar.