A pistol shrimp snaps its claw so fast that the bubble it creates is briefly hotter than the surface of the Sun.
The snap fires a jet of water that forms a cavitation bubble. When the bubble collapses it produces a bang of over 200 decibels, a flash of light and a temperature of several thousand degrees for a split second.
Why is this true?
The heat comes from the bubble collapsing so violently that the gas inside is compressed almost instantly, a process called sonoluminescence. The shockwave stuns small prey and is loud enough to interfere with submarine sonar.
More facts in this category
More about animals
Animals are the easiest place to find facts that sound invented. Three hearts, blue blood, cube-shaped droppings, a punch fast enough to boil water for an instant — every one of these is ordinary biology to the animal doing it. The collection here leans on well-documented behaviour and anatomy rather than folklore, so each entry comes with a short explanation of why the trick actually works and a source you can read next.