Tiny shrimp, a loud ocean

Snapping, or pistol, shrimp make very loud, brief sounds by rapidly closing a large claw and creating a cavitation bubble. NOAA gives source levels of about 183–210 dB underwater; those figures cannot be directly compared with measurements in air. The snaps are among the loudest biological sounds in coastal oceans, but they do not establish an unqualified record for the “loudest creature.”