What would happen if a Pistol Shrimp pinched you?

I’m guessing here. If the claw bit you, the cavitation bubble would not occur. Your flesh would slow the jaws down as they cut through. I have no idea why it doesn’t burn itself, other than the hypothesis you make. Cool question! :^D

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Good point! XD But what if it snapped right next to you, so it didn’t make contact with skin? The heat would radiate, possibly….

So I would guess that the cavitaion bubble is so small that the heat dissipates incredibly quickly in to the surrounding sea.

Well after I stopped crying like a 4yr old girl right after mommy said barbie had died, i’d probably make that little bastard suffer for what was left of it’s short life.Cruel to be kind.

@ucme have at it, I’ll melt the butter!

@Trillian Well hi there stranger, long time no see…..well kind of, oh you know what I mean. How ya doing? Well I hope.

Been kinda hangin’ back. I’m relatively well. You? Is that crab ready to eat?

Top of the world Ma.It’s ready when you are.

@Draconess25 The cavitation bubble is so small and the heat sink of the water is so large that heat would dissipate before you could feel it.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Awww, that’s no fun! XP

@Draconess25 Physics takes all the fun away sometimes. :^(

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Rachel & I always have arguments about physics….She always proves me wrong!

@Draconess25 <<hugs>>

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Yay! <<hugs>>

I have been hit by both a Candy Cane Pistol Shrimp and a Michaels Pistol Shrimp . To answer the question at hand, no, it doesnt hurt. The candy cane is about the size of your finger nail, but the michaels is much larger. With your hand in front of the claw you can feel a slight impact against it but no real heat. I could however see how this is devastating to other small inverts but even fish dont seem to be effected by it much.

What one really has to watch out for is being hit by a mantis shrimp .“It is said that the Californian mantis shrimp can break double security
glass and that their attack is as powerful as a 22 calibre bullet.”

They are no joke and will cause some damage. Obviously still not life threatening, but can easily break the bones in your hand if you stupidly decide to stick your hand near one :P

@uberbatman Dammit! That ruins it all! XP Is it odd that I find those pictures cute?

Not at all. I love pistol shrimp though mantis shrimp are way cooler/cuter

@uberbatman I love shrimp, jellyfish (duh!), stingrays, & clams. Not as food, though. Seafood tastes disgusting.

You left out the most interesting of sea life. Cephalopods.
im quite fond of the flamboyant cuttlefish

seafood tastes amazing.

@uberbatman I can’t believe I forgot!

The cavitation bubble reaches temperatures close to that of the sun, but it dissipates so quickly that it has no residual effect. This action also produces light of a low intensity – sonoluminescence – and is not visible to the human eye. If handling one from an aquatic environment into fresh air, you sometimes receive a small “shock.” For your interest, the mantis shrimp does this also. Whilst it has no bearing on this question, the eye structure of the mantis shrimp is considered to be the most complex eye structure in the animal kingdom. They permit both serial and parallel analysis of visual stimuli.

Hope this helps
colinito