Natures wonders: very fast biting spider (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, April 08, 2016, 19:53 (3149 days ago) @ David Turell

Most be filmed at 40,000 frames per second to follow it:-http://mashable.com/2016/04/08/lightning-fast-spider-jaws/#XwOFvyFxJqqh-"The spiders are only found in New Zealand and southern parts of South America, with the quickest of the 14 species of trap-jaw spider closing their jaw more than 100 times faster than the slowest.- "The high-speed predatory attacks of these spiders were previously unknown. Many of the species I have been working with are also unknown to the scientific community."-"Wood examined how these trap-jaw spiders used their unusual head anatomy, like the closely related pelican spider, and how they would stalk prey with their chelicerae (jaws) wide open — snapping them shut when they got close enough. It's the type of predatory behaviour that's been witnessed on ants, but not arachnids.-"Not only are some of these trap-jaw spiders fast, four of the spiders boast a power output exceeding the known capacity of their muscles. -"It's a finding which shows that a spider's movements aren't necessarily powered by their tiny muscles, according to the statement, but have perhaps developed structural mechanisms in their bodies which allow the storing of energy -"This would allow these trap-jaw spiders to release stored energy in a way that power would be near instantaneously amplified, like some kind of super power. It's a discovery that will be further investigated by researchers, potentially having implications for future technologies outside of natural history science."-Comment: Was the bite this fast when it was first discovered by the spider, or did it speed up bit by bit through gradual changes in anatomy? We don't know.