New animal speed record: jaws of the Dracula ant

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rjlittlefield
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New animal speed record: jaws of the Dracula ant

Post by rjlittlefield »

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... at-200-mph
Dracula ant's killer jaws are nature's fastest mover at 200mph
Tropical insect uses lethal speed of its spring-loaded mandibles to stun or kill prey
According to the embedded video: "This ant goes from 0-200 mph in 0.000015 seconds."

They're speaking of just the tips of the jaws, but still an impressive speed and acceleration.

Related video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNMIupWT4X4 .

Macro shots by Alex Wild: https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxo ... -hGbzGbH/A

--Rik

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

The previous record-holder was the trap-jaw ant, which I accidentally photographed once while photographing a Morpho wing. I posted it on the forum a while ago:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... highlight=

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