Mantis Shrimp's impact-resistant club inspires material for airplanes

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- American scientists have identified a unique structure that wraps around the mantis shrimp's club that can protect it from self-inflicted damage as it crushes hard-shelled prey.

The study, published on Tuesday in Advanced Materials, may help develop ultra-strong materials for the aerospace and sports industries.

Mantis shrimp, which are also called stomatopods, are aggressive crustaceans known for killing their prey with the fastest known animal movements. They are divided into two groups: "spearers," which attack soft-bodied prey using a harpoon-like structure, and the more recently evolved "smashers," crushing hard-shelled prey using a hammer-like appendage called a dactyl club.

Researchers led by UC Riverside's David Kisailus have been studying smashers' clubs as inspiration for the development of next-generation composite materials.

The dactyl club, made of mineralized chitin, is arranged in unique structures. The exterior of it serves as hard, crack-resistant coating that enables the shrimp to inflict incredible damage to its prey by transferring its momentum upon impact.

The interior of the club comprises two regions: the periodic region, an energy-absorbing structure that dissipates cracks along a series of long spiral-like fibers, and the striated region.

Kisailus' team shows that the striated region comprises a series of highly aligned fibers that wrap around the club and stop it from expanding upon impact.

"We believe the role of the fiber-reinforced striated region in the smasher's club is much like the hand wrap used by boxers when they fight: to compress the club and prevent catastrophic cracking. Together, the impact, periodic and striated regions form a club of incredible strength, durability and impact resistance," Kisailus said.

Kisailus said a similar striated architectural element is also seen in the smasher's more ancient cousin, the spearer, where it is thought to prevent the long, thin barbs from becoming deformed during penetrating strikes. Enditem