Page 40 - World of Animals - Issue #36

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Best

boxer

You could
fit 90 mantis

shrimp strikes into
the time it takes for
a human eye Despite its tiny size, the
to blink! mantis shrimp is a real
heavyweight, packing a
punch with the force of a
22-calibre bullet
The mantis shrimp lives in the warm

shallows of the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. This tiny critter stays close
to its home, and when it goes out
hunting, it’s looking for creatures that
are most often larger and stronger
than it is.
The reason for its bravery is the fact
that this shrimp is a champion boxer.
Held up against its carapace, just
beneath its head, are two supremely
hard clubs, attached to two strong,
spring-loaded arms. It looks a lot like
the front arms of a preying mantis.
When its prey comes into sight, the
shrimp releases the energy in the
arms and within a fraction of a second
it reaches out and clubs its prey with
a deathblow. The clubs accelerate at
over 80kph (49.7mph), with a force
of 150kg (330.7lbs), up to 2500 times
its bodyweight. The lightning-quick
response is phenomenal.

Best swimmer

Capable of 100kph (62mph) in the water, this armed and
streamlined living torpedo is not your average swimming buddy
The sailfish is the ultimate prize for any

sea angler. Why? Because as the fastest

fish in the ocean, they’re pretty darn Britta Steffen
hard to catch. With colossal, tapering won two gold
bodies fronted with a long spear-like bill, medals in the 2008
propelled by a muscular tail and stabilised Olympic games for

with a huge dorsal fin that’s taller than the the women’s 50m and
fish’s body is wide, these fish are built for 100m freestyle and one

nothing but speed. bronze in 2000 for
the 4x200m.
The huge dorsal fin can be retracted
© Thinkstock; Rex Features; Getty; FreePik; FLPA; Alamy The fish raises its giant sail-like fin when Top speed
into a groove to ensure that when speed

is needed, the fin creates no extra drag.

its threatened or excited. The spear cuts
through the water ahead of the fish, and

when all fins are flat against the body the

fish is able to cruise at a speed equalling

one body length per second. All of the
8.6kph (5.342 mph)
thrust is generated by contractions of the
muscular body and tail, and sharp fins
allow for swift direction changes.
40 40 110kph (68.4mph) PB
032-040_WOA036_AnimalOlympians.indd 40 20/07/2016 14:42