And mantis shrimp are called mantis shrimp after the praying mantises, which also have a fast feeding appendage.

This is a recording I made of a mantis shrimp that's found off the coast of California.

So, mantis shrimp come in two varieties there are spearers and smashers.

So this is a mantis shrimp.

And mantis shrimp are officially the fastest measured feeding strike of any animal system.

I'm going to show you the mantis shrimp approaching the snail.

Like when my son transformed into a praying mantis for Halloween.

This was how mantis shrimps make these very fast strikes.

Now, this is pattern thinking.

Now, the other type of mantis shrimp is the smasher stomatopod, and these guys open up snails for a living.

And mantis shrimp are officially the fastest measured feeding strike of any animal system. So our first surprise.

(Audience) Hippo. CY Hippo?

So, actually, I started working on what's called the mantis shrimp a few years ago because they make sound.

And mantis shrimp are called mantis shrimp after the praying mantises, which also have a fast feeding appendage. And I started to think, well, maybe it will be interesting, while listening to their sounds, to figure out how these animals generate very fast feeding strikes.

And what he showed in mantis shrimp is that they use what's called a catch mechanism, or click mechanism.

So this is a mantis shrimp. There are the eyes up here, and there's that raptorial appendage, and there's the heel.

And while I was struggling to figure out how and why mantis shrimp, or stomatopods, make sound, I started to think about their appendages.

And if we slow it down a bit, this is the mantis shrimp the same species recorded at 1,000 frames a second, played back at 15 frames per second.

So the next and final question was, well, how much force does a mantis shrimp produce if they're able to break open snails?

(Audience) Seahorse.

A horse, armour and soldiers.

A magic horse, my most magnificent Caliph.

Say, Hippopotamus. Hippopotamus.

Brownie. Watch it. Hippo.

Yohei's horse is too worn out.

And if any of you ever have a chance, backstage of the National Museum of Natural History is one of the world's best collections of preserved mantis shrimp.

So this is a potent force in fluid systems, and just to sort of take it one step further, I'm going to show you the mantis shrimp approaching the snail.

Does anyone not see a seahorse?

I didn't bet any horse.

That one would be good for a mare.

I could eat a hippopotamus.

A nag like that can't carry your weight!

Imagine, a hippopotamus steak,

The genus Oenothera.

It's just sex.

PERES your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

PERES Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Oh, this is a little pony, little pony very cute little thing.

The Hippo Generation are the ruling elites.

How about a hippopotamus?

I knew it!

Human beings are a social species.

No more mule in horse's harness?

So, a quick strike like that. And if we slow it down a bit, this is the mantis shrimp the same species recorded at 1,000 frames a second, played back at 15 frames per second.

And if any of you ever have a chance, backstage of the National Museum of Natural History is one of the world's best collections of preserved mantis shrimp. And what this is serious business for me.