The Dracula Ant or Mystrium Camillae is the fastest animal in the world thanks to its spring loaded snap which travels over 200 miles per hour or 90 meters per second. In this video we briefly explore how this is possible.
References:
Jaws That Snap: Control the Mandible Movements in the Ant Mystrium by Wulfila Gronenberg, et al.
Latch-Based Control of Energy Output in Spring Actuated Systems by Sathvik Divi, et al.
Snap-Jaw Morphology Is Specialized for High-Speed Power Amplification in the Dracula Ant, Mystrium Camillae by Fredrick J. Larabee, et al.
Footage from Videezy
Pictures by April Nobile
Pictures by April Nobile
Pictures by Bernard DUPONT
Pictures by Andreas Kay
Pictures by Steven Miller
Pictures by April Nobile
Pictures by April Nobile
Pictures by April Nobile
Pictures by Darryl Moran
Featured image:
April Nobile / © AntWeb.org / CC BY-SA 3.0