Snowflake Snapping Shrimp

Guardian: Les Ferguson

Alpheus strenuus

A snapping shrimp closes it claws so quickly that it implodes air bubbles, smashing the molecules against each other so violently that in the tiny space around its claw the temperature will reach 4,700 degrees Celsius.

This means that when you walk over the reef flats or through the mangroves each ‘pop’ or snap of a shrimp is a tiny explosion of heat, a fireworks display of miniature exploding stars.