The ocean is full of record breakers. This week Doctor Sunny met a shark older than most countries, a shrimp that makes a bubble almost as hot as the sun, and a shrimp that throws the fastest punch underwater. Every fact here is checked against the original research.
1. The Greenland shark could be almost 400 years old
Greenland sharks are the longest-living animals with a backbone. In 2016 scientists dated 28 of them with radiocarbon from the lenses of their eyes. The biggest one was about 392 years old, somewhere between 272 and 512. They grow about 1 cm a year and only become adults at around 150. Some sharks swimming today were born in the 1600s.
2. The pistol shrimp’s snap is almost as hot as the sun
When a pistol shrimp (snapping shrimp) snaps its claw shut, it shoots out a jet of water so fast it makes a bubble. When that bubble collapses, it gives off a tiny flash of light and reaches at least 5,000 kelvin, over 8,000°F. That is close to the temperature of the surface of the sun. The snap is also one of the loudest sounds in the sea.
3. The mantis shrimp punches at 50 mph underwater
The peacock mantis shrimp hits with a club that reaches about 23 metres per second (around 50 mph) with up to 8,000 times the pull of gravity. The strike is so fast that the water boils into bubbles that hit the prey a second time. Mantis shrimp kept in aquariums have even cracked the glass. Doctor Sunny’s mantis shrimp video is coming next.
Sources
- Nielsen et al. (2016), Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark, Science
- Lohse et al. (2001), Snapping shrimp make flashing bubbles, Nature
- UC Berkeley (2004), Mantis shrimp strike
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