American researchers have discovered that the unique clam structure of the Chinese Panyu prawn can protect them from injury when crushing crustacean prey, or provide new ideas for the development of superhard materials for spacecraft. Commonly known as "Phi Phi Shrimp" in China, it is officially known as "Shrimp Clam". It is an arthropod door, a crustacean door, and a soft armor. It can be divided into "puncture type" shrimp with a spear structure. And a "crushed" shrimp that smashes the hard shell prey with a hammer-shaped crowbar structure. The latter is extremely aggressive, with a smashing underwater attack speed of 23 meters per second, which is a leader in the animal world, but it can also have a huge impact on the predator itself. In order to find out why the chopsticks of the shredded shiitake can resist such a strong impact, a team at the University of California, Riverside, studied the structure of the crowbar. The crowbar is also known as the "toe bar", which was previously known to be a multi-layered structure of inorganic chitin. The exterior is a hard outerwear that can be impact-proof, allowing the shredded shrimp to launch a rapid attack. The inside of the toe bar is divided into two areas. The first area is surrounded by helical fibrous material, which can absorb impact energy. The second area is called "striped area". Recent research has shown that the striped areas of the toe sticks are highly neatly lined with fibrous material that wraps around the toe sticks and protects the toe sticks from impact cracking. "(The neatly) distributed stripe of fiber, just like the strip gauze used to wrap the fist in a boxer's game, by pressing the crowbar to avoid a fatal rupture. (Internal and external) A sturdy stick that combines strength, durability and impact resistance," explains David Catherles, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, who led the study. The study also found that the ancient cousin puncture-type prawn of the smashed prawn also has a similar stripe structure. The researchers believe that this is used to prevent deformation of long and thin spears when they penetrate the prey. The US Air Force Research Office invested $7.5 million to fund the study. Related papers were published in the new issue of Advanced Materials. The research team hopes to develop the next generation of composite materials, including superhard materials required in the fields of spacecraft and sports helmets.