Under water, a shrimp-pistol closes its large clamp and projects a very fast jet. A cavity forms in the water and then collapses abruptly. This phenomenon of cavitation is at the origin of the characteristic snap that we hear around these animals.
In 2001, researchers described in Nature an even more unexpected detail: the collapse of the bubble is accompanied by a very low light emission. The phenomenon receives a name built for the occasion, the “shrimpoluminescence”. The clamp therefore triggers a small chain of physical events in the surrounding liquid.
It would be misleading to turn this sighting into a shrimp whose body would be warmer than the Sun, or into a projectile identical to a bullet. The flash is about a tiny bubble and an extremely short duration. The animal already impresses without these shortcuts: part of its effectiveness is found in the water it sets in motion.
What we know
Shrimp-pistol, distinct from mantis shrimp; emission related to cavitation, without undue comparison with the Sun.
To go to the source
References consulted on September 21, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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