Smasher mantis shrimp release their clubs like a spring, reaching more than 80 km/h with accelerations of up to about 10,000 g. The strike is so violent that it creates cavitation bubbles in the water; as they collapse, they deliver a second blow, release heat and even emit a faint flash of light. Snail shells don't stand a chance.
In 2022, a young tagged bar-tailed godwit flew from Alaska to Tasmania in about 11 days of nonstop flight, covering 13,560 km without eating, drinking or landing. Before departure, these birds pile on huge fat reserves and shrink their digestive organs, which are useless during the journey.
To escape rivals, a dung beetle rolls its ball of dung in a straight line. At night, it holds its course using the glowing band of the Milky Way. In a planetarium, researchers showed that beetles rolled straight under a starry sky but wandered aimlessly when the galaxy was switched off. It was the first animal known to navigate this way.