The sandy isthmus connecting North and South Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. by JJ Harrison
(Source: Wikipedia)
Taktsang Palphug Monastery, also known as The Tiger’s Nest, in Bhutan
Here is a Mantis Shrimp. They have some serious business claws.
They strike so rapidly that they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1,500 newtons that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey.
One of the entries for National Geographic’s Photo Contest 2011. (See a selection of the entries here)
