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Dracula ants possess fastest known animal appendage: the snap-jaw

December 12, 2018

Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp: There’s a faster appendage in town. 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.


December 12, 2018


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