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By Tess Joosse
How many times can you snap your fingers in a second? Whatever your record is, you are no match for the creature in the video above. This “amphipod” – a microscopic crustacean resembling a shrimp – slams its claws thousands of times per second. It’s one of the fastest reproducible movements in the animal kingdom, according to a new study, and virtually defies the laws of physics.
Amphipods (Dulichiella cf. appendiculata) feed on dead algae and algae in the cool coastal waters they inhabit. Men have a single, asymmetrical claw that makes up about a third of their total body mass. This appendix is made up of a mute-shaped “propodus” and a hinged “dactyl” that opens and closes with rapid fire speed – though it is only as wide as a human hair.
In the new study, scientists placed male amphipods under a high-speed camera that allowed them to precisely position each snap in the frame. The fastest movements occurred in less than 50 microseconds – 100,000 times shorter than a human blink, researchers report today in Current biology. The speed is especially noteworthy, the team says, as the drag of the water should slow the snap.
Scientists also found that the claws made audible clicking noises and generated jets of water with each click. Some jets were so intense that they generated a powerful phenomenon called cavitation, when rapid changes in pressure create bubbles in the water. In the slow motion video above, you can see an oblong bubble coming out of the claw every time it closes.
The researchers then want to study why such a small animal needs to make such rapid movements. One thought is that amphipods move their claws to communicate during territorial or mating conflicts. Their message? Regain consciousness.
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