Simple tweaks helped the trap-jaw ant evolve its powerful bite
Summary by UPI
According to a new study, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology, the trap-jaw evolved independently among different ant lineages between seven and ten times.
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Simple tweaks helped the trap-jaw ant evolve its powerful bite
According to a new study, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology, the trap-jaw evolved independently among different ant lineages between seven and ten times.
(Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University) Powerful and deadly, trap-jaws are a record-breaking evolutionary innovation. Unlike normal gripping jaws, which rely on muscles to open and close, the trap-jaw latches itself open, storing energy like a stretched spring. When released, the jaws of the ant snap shut in one ultrafast strike. However, scientists still don't understand how this complex mechanism evolved. Now, …
Powerful and deadly, the bite of a trap-jaw ant is renowned throughout the animal kingdom. Unlike normal gripping jaws, which rely on muscles to open and close, the trap-jaw latches itself open, storing energy like a stretched spring. When released, the jaws of the ansnap shut on their prey in one ultrafast strike.
Record-Breaking Evolutionary Innovation: Powerful, Deadly, Ultrafast Bite of a Trap
Small changes in form can lead to innovative breakthroughs in function, a new study reveals. Researchers have revealed how an ant's trap-jaw — a powerful, ultrafast and complex evolutionary trait — evolved from a simpler ancestral jaw mechanism The study found that the trap-jaw mechanism evo
How trap-jaw ants got the fastest bite in the animal kingdom
The latch-spring mechanism of trap-jaw ants evolved up to 10 different times independently throughout the world, according to a new study from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)Trap-jaw ants are famous for their powerful mandibles, which close about 2,300 times faster than the blink of an eye. To catch prey and dodge predators, the ants’ jaws accelerate at 100,000 times the force of gravity, and this force…