11 Most Bizarre Crustaceans

From the super-powered Pistol Shrimp, to the scary looking Undersea Woodlouse; These are 11 of the Most Bizarre Crustaceans!
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5.
Pistol Shrimp
These small crustaceans are known for having a disproportionately large claw … which is bigger than half of the creature’s body. While it doesn’t have pincers at the end, the claw has a pistol-shaped feature that is made up of two parts. When released, a hammer-like part snaps into the other part of the claw. When the claw is snapped, a cavitation bubble is produced, which can reach speeds exceeding 60 mph and produce a sound reaching more than 200 decibels. As the bubble collapses, it can result in temperatures approaching more than 4,700 degrees Celsius … nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. The combination of sound and pressure produced by the bubble is powerful enough to stun or paralyze small fish, and even smash through glass jars!

4.
Colorful Crustaceans
After showing you a white crab and a blue crab, how could we top that? We found a couple other crustacean critters that beat the odds to display some amazing coloration! A fisherman plying his trade off the coast of Scotland in 2015 really struck gold when he pulled this animal out of the water. The lobster’s unique gold coloration is thought to be the result of genetic mutation or some outside stimulus … experts don’t have a clear answer yet … although it’s said to be a one-in-five million occurrence. But another lobster caught in 2013 off the coast of Maine was 10 times as rare … it had a two-toned shell that was split evenly down the middle … with one side black and the other side orange … Experts say the Halloween-hued animal is a one -in FIFTY million occurrence!

3.
Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Crayfish
This critter is unique in several ways … It’s called a crayfish when it’s actually a lobster … It’s found only in the rivers of northern Tasmania … and it’s the world’s largest freshwater invertebrate. They’ve been documented weighing up to 13 pounds and measuring more than 30 inches long! The critter in the picture would appear to be around those dimensions … or at least one of the larger specimens. Due to their large size and formidable appearance, they have no natural predators. While we couldn’t find a credit for the photographer, we identified the man carefully holding the large crustacean as Todd Walsh, a noted expert on lobsters, and the crayfish in particular. He’s among experts in Tasmania seeking to protect the endangered animals from the effects of deforestation and illegal fishing.

2.
Skeleton Shrimp
The appearance of these deep sea denizens can throw a big scare into you … but they’re actually miniscule in size. The marine predators measure only about a few millimeters long … and are named for their slender, translucent bodies. Their pale coloration allows them to blend in with seaweed on the ocean floor, where they patiently lie in wait for prey. Their fearsome, hooked legs and angular appearance have evoked comparisons to the praying mantis. Like that insect, the females of some species of this shrimp are known to consume the males after mating is consummated. Did you know that population explosions of these tiny terrors can threaten large commercial fish? The shrimp can outcompete them for plankton and lay waste to newborn fish fry.

1.
Undersea Woodlouse
Workers at a shark station in the Bahamas noticed that odd ‘teeth marks’ had appeared on cables of their undersea camera system. Taking a closer look at the look at the cables, it appeared that the damage was made by an enormous crustacean gnawing upon them. An official at the Bahamas Cape Eleuthera (ih-LOO-thur-uh) Institute made the right deduction … The culprit turned out to be an undersea woodlouse -- one that measured around a foot long! Woodlice are crustaceans that normally measure about 1 centimeter long … on land, anyway. Under the sea, the woodlouse can grow to sizes much larger than their terrestrial cousins -- as was the case with the creature in the Bahamas. It was identified as ‘Bathynomus Giganteus’ (bath-EEN-nuh-mus gih-GAHN-tee-us), and is normally found at depths of around 8,500 feet. Its larger size is thought to be an example of ‘deep sea gigantism (jie-GAN-tiz-um)’ … in the cold, deep waters of the oceans, crustaceans and invertebrates tend to be larger than those found in shallower waters. The critter has legs arranged in seven pairs, and four sets of jaws … those sharp mandibles had chewed through the camera cables. Normally, though, the creatures are content to feed on dead shrimp, fish and whales. They’re known to be common in the Gulf of Mexico … where they can grow more than two feet long!

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