Microscopy adds to understanding mantis shrimp strength

The mantis shrimp uses its two dactyl clubs to strike prey at over 50mph without appearing to incur any damage.

Mantis shrimp eye inspires camera that senses colour and polarisation

Shrimp study could lead to lighter military body armour

Now, University of California, Irvine materials science researchers discovered that the clubs have a uniquely designed nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy. Their findings have been published in Nature Materials.

"Think about punching a wall a couple thousand times at those speeds and not breaking your fist," said David Kisailus, UCI professor of materials science & engineering. "That's pretty impressive, and it got us thinking about how this could be."

He and postdoctoral scholar Wei Huang used transmission electron and atomic force microscopy to examine the nanoscale architecture and material components of the clubs' surface layer. They determined that the nanoparticles are bicontinuous spheres, made of intertwined organic (protein and polysaccharide) and inorganic (calcium phosphate) nanocrystals.