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As if Florida’s “skull-collecting” ants weren’t unsettling enough, we now have Dracula ants to worry about. A recent study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science reveals that the Dracula ant species (Mystrium camillae), native to Australia and Southeast Asia, can close its jaws at a speed of 90 meters per second, or approximately 200 mph. This makes their jaws the fastest part of any animal, according to researchers in a statement.
These discoveries were made by a team of three researchers, including Adrian Smith, who has also studied the brutal ways in which skull-collecting ants (Formica archboldi) dismember trap-jaw ants, once considered the fastest ants in the world. However, with jaw speeds just over 100 mph, they’re no match for the Dracula ant. (Fun fact: The Dracula ant subfamily is named after their habit of drinking the blood of their own young through a practice known as "nondestructive cannibalism." Yikes.)
Senior author Andrew Suarez from the University of Illinois explained that the Dracula ant’s jaw anatomy is unique. Unlike trap-jaw ants, which close their jaws from an open position, Dracula ants use a spring-loading mechanism. The ants “press the tips of their mandibles together to build potential energy, which is released when one mandible slides across the other, much like snapping a human finger,” researchers write.
They employ this technique to strike other arthropods or push them away. Once immobilized, the prey can be dragged back to the Dracula ant's nest, where it will become food for the ant larvae, Suarez explained.
Researchers utilized X-ray imaging to explore the ants' anatomy in 3D. High-speed cameras were also used to capture their jaws snapping at astonishing speeds, which are 5000 times faster than the blink of a human eye. Watch the ants in slow-motion in the video below.
