Sound production by marine invertebrates has not been investigated to the same extent as it has been for fishes and marine mammals. However, the spiny lobster and snapping shrimp are two species of invertebrates whose unique methods and purposes of sound production have been well documented. Barnacles and other mollusks also produce sound; however, their sound production mechanisms have not been studied in great detail.

Most marine invertebrates known to produce sounds do so by stridulation or rubbing two parts of their bodies together. The snapping shrimp, Alpheus heterochaelis, a common sound producer in the oceans is an exception to this. Snapping shrimp have two claws, or chelipeds, one of which is greatly enlarged and can grow up to half the size of the entire body. It was once thought that sounds produced by snapping shrimp occurred as a result of the top and bottom parts of the cheliped striking each other when the claw was snapped shut. However, it was later discovered that the sound is actually caused by the popping of a bubble that is produced when the cheliped opens and closes rapidly. The enlarged claw is usually slightly opened but during muscle contraction, the claw closes at a very high speed. This causes the water to cavitate and form a bubble of vapor. The sound that is heard from the shrimp is produced upon collapse of this bubble. Light is also produced when the bubble collapses and has been referred to as 'shrimpoluminescence' by researchers.

Freeze-framed images from a high-speed video recording showing the bubble produced by the snapping shrimp. Photo series courtesy of Department of Applied Physics, University of Twente