Natures wonders: Dracula ant jaw speed (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, December 12, 2018, 18:51 (2171 days ago) @ David Turell

200 mph to stun prey:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211192143.htm

" According to a new study, the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at speeds of up to 90 meters per second (more than 200 mph), making it the fastest animal movement on record.

"'The high accelerations of Mystrium strikes likely result in high-impact forces necessary for predatory or defensive behaviors," the researchers wrote in a report of their findings in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

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"Unlike trap-jaw ants, whose powerful jaws snap closed from an open position, Dracula ants power up their mandibles by pressing the tips together, spring-loading them with internal stresses that release when one mandible slides across the other, similar to a human finger snap, the researchers said.

"'The ants use this motion to smack other arthropods, likely stunning them, smashing them against a tunnel wall or pushing them away. The prey is then transported back to the nest, where it is fed to the ants' larvae," Suarez said.

"'Scientists have described many different spring-loading mechanisms in ants, but no one knew the relative speed of each of these mechanisms," Larabee said. "We had to use incredibly fast cameras to see the whole movement. We also used X-ray imaging technology to be able to see their anatomy in three dimensions, to better understand how the movement works."

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"'Our main findings are that snap-jaws are the fastest of the spring-loaded ant mouthparts, and the fastest currently known animal movement," Larabee said. "By comparing the jaw shape of snapping ants with biting ants, we also learned that it only took small changes in shape for the jaws to evolve a new function: acting as a spring."

"The team's future work includes examining how the ants use their mandibles in the field.
"Their biology, how they capture prey and defend their nests, is still in need of description," Smith said."

Comment: What yet is not known is how the jaws protect themselves from the force they use. They had to be developed at the same time the spring mechanism was formed. For example the woodpecker's brain is protected from pecking, previously described here.