Mechanisms of ultra-high speed movement in the trap jaw ant

摘要

The ant Ondontomuchus kuroiwae has a trap jaw that snaps quickly to capture a prey. The ant opens the trap jaw, locks it and closes quickly if it detects a prey using a sensory hair on the jaw. We here analyze 3-dimensional structure of the trap jaw muscles by using a micro volume imaging with an X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to elucidate the mechanism of the exoskeletal muscular system to realize ultra-high speed movement of the trap jaw.