Mantis shrimp and aircraft

30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

BBC

Technology

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2021

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

S2 Ep6. Bam! The mantis shrimp’s powerful punch could change the way we build cars and planes. The little crustacean has inspired lighter, more impact-resistant materials. These shrimps are ferocious predators which use their forelimbs to hit their prey with one of the strongest weight-for-weight punches on the planet. The design of their punching limb has caught the attention of scientists and could transform the way we create strong materials for the car and aerospace industries. Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think. #30Animals Get in touch: www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals

Transcript

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0:00.0	Shhh, keep the noise down and follow me.
0:22.3	Tucked away in the burrows and holes of shallow, tropical and subtropical waters, lives a rather
0:28.9	solitary sea creature. The mantish shrimp. They rarely leave their homes except to feed or move
0:36.5	elsewhere. Some are more active at night whereas others are more active during the day or at
0:42.7	twilight. It all depends on the species of which there are roughly 450. Although some species
0:51.0	live in temperate seas, most are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans between Eastern Africa
0:57.8	and Hawaii. Old it right there okay come on let's try this again because if you've never heard
1:07.6	of a mantish shrimp before I bet you're thinking wow these sound like really sleepy creatures
1:15.8	but don't let their shrimpy name or solitary habits fool you because mantish shrimp are seriously
1:22.9	ferocious predators which hunt by clubbing their dinner to death with their forelimbs whacking
1:28.9	their prey with one of the strongest wait for wait punches on the planet. There we go that's more
1:38.6	like it and what's more the crushing blow of the mantish shrimp has now come to inspire new
1:44.7	lightweight impact resistant tech that could prove invaluable to both the automotive and aerospace
1:51.8	industries. Hi there I'm Patrick I and welcome back to series two of 30 animals that made a smarter
2:02.5	an original podcast from the BBC World Service the podcast which reveals how animals like parasitic
2:08.2	wasps snakes and squid which feature in our other episodes have been helping us humans out with
2:14.5	some really challenging problems and have inspired some amazing ideas and inventions along the way.
2:22.2	This stuff is called bio mimicry by the way and I'm absolutely fascinated by it you can find out
2:29.0	more details about the series on our website bbcworldservice.com slash 30 animals and don't forget you
2:35.3	can also subscribe to our podcast and spread the word tell your friends and family how to do this
2:40.6	as well and remember we want to hear from you too so if you have a suggestion for an animal we
2:46.6	should be investigating please contact us on social media it's hashtag 30 animals.
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