Weird Animal Facts: And You Thought Deep Purple Was Loud
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that some of the loudest rock bands in the world over the past five or six decades have been Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Who, AC/DC, and Motorhead.
The 1972 Guinness Book of Records called Deep Purple the world’s loudest band after 117 decibels were registered at the Rainbow Theatre in London. At one of their shows, three fans near speakers were knocked unconscious by the sound.
The Who topped that record with 126 decibels, also in London, while Led Zeppelin reached 130 decibels in Canada. Motorhead singer Lemmy once joked that his band was “so loud that if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die.”
What may surprise you is the identity of one of the world’s loudest animals. No, it’s not a lion with its boisterous roar or an elephant with its mighty trumpet. Nor is it the howler monkey, the blue whale, cicadas, or the bullfrog.
One of the world’s loudest animals is also one of the smallest. The pistol shrimp is only a few centimeters long, but it creates a sound louder than the sonic boom produced by a Concorde jet. Its shock wave – louder than the sound of a gunshot – can reach 230 decibels.
How does the pistol shrimp, which lives in the Pacific Ocean’s coral reefs and beds of sea grass off the coast of Panama, make such an incredibly loud noise? And why?
When the pistol shrimp rapidly snaps its claw, it creates a bubble. When that bubble collapses, you’d better cover your ears. In addition to the noise, the imploding bubble also generates a temperature of 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For some perspective, that’s about four times as hot as lava spewing out of a volcano. If the noise doesn’t get you, the heat will.
When does it decide to make this deafening sound? As you’d expect, the noise is produced when the pistol shrimp needs to attack or defend. They shoot this deadly bubble toward their prey, which doesn’t stand a chance if it’s nearby. The pistol shrimp can also use this force to create burrows in rocks, much the same way a jackhammer would.
The noise these pistol shrimp make is so loud, it has actually confused naval vessels in the area. During World War II, the U.S. Navy called in researchers to determine the source of a noise and were relieved to learn it did not come from an enemy.
As if God did not already grant the pistol shrimp extraordinary powers, this tiny creature is also capable of re-growing a lost appendage. If their large snapper claw gets detached in a battle, for example, their small pincher will gradually transform into a large snapper claw. It doesn’t seem fair.
But this miniature dynamo is also known for its cooperative nature. It lives in clusters to protect family and friends, and has been known to provide small fish called gobies a suitable place to live in return for the gobies’ watchguard capabilities.
Some rock bands may think they’re loud and hot, but they’ve got nothing on the pistol shrimp.
Hope you enjoyed this blog post on weird animal facts. After reading it, perhaps the idea of a talking horse is not quite so bizarre. Feel free to check out my three-volume Bamboo Harvester novel on the Home page of this site.