Trap-jaws revisited: The mandible mechanism of the ant Acanthognathus

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Abstract

Ants of the genus Acanthognathus stalk small insects and catch their prey by a strike with their long, thin mandibles. The mandibles close in less than 2.5 ms and this movement is controlled by a specialized closer muscle. In Acanthognathus, unlike other insects, the mandible closer muscle is subdivided into two distinct parts: as in a catapult, a large slow closer muscle contracts in advance and provides the power for the strike while the mandibles are locked open. When the prey touches specialized trigger hairs, a small fast closer muscle rapidly unlocks the mandibles and thus releases the strike. The fast movement is steadied by large specialized surfaces in the mandible joint and the sensory-motor reflex is controlled by neurones with particularly large, and thus fast-conducting, axons.

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Gronenberg, W., Roberto, C., Brandäo, F., Dietz, B. H., & Just, S. (1998). Trap-jaws revisited: The mandible mechanism of the ant Acanthognathus. Physiological Entomology, 23(3), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3032.1998.233081.x

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