Odontomachus

Odontomachus
Odontomachus from India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae
Tribe:	Ponerini
Genus:	Odontomachus Latreille, 1804
Type species
Formica haematoda
Diversity
69 species
Synonyms
Champsomyrmex Emery, 1892 Myrtoteras Matsumura, 1912 Pedetes Bernstein, 1861

Odontomachus, or trap-jaw ants, is a genus of carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.

Overview

Head of O. hastatus

Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in Odontomachus have a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180 degrees. These jaws are locked in place by an internal mechanism, and can snap shut on prey or objects when sensory hairs on the inside of the mandibles are touched. The mandibles are powerful and fast, giving the ant its common name. The mandibles either kill or maim the prey, allowing the ant to bring it back to the nest. Odontomachus can simply lock and snap its jaws again if one bite is not enough, or to cut off bits of larger food. The mandibles also permit slow and fine movements for other tasks such as nest building and care of larvae.

Speed record

Trap-jaw ants of this genus have the fastest moving predatory appendages within the animal kingdom. One study of Odontomachus bauri recorded peak speeds of between 126–230 kilometres per hour (78–143 mph), with the jaws closing within just 130 microseconds on average. The peak force exerted was in the order of 300 times the body weight of the ant and acceleration of 1 000 000 m/s² or 100 000 g. The ants were also observed to use their jaws as a catapult to eject intruders or fling themselves backwards to escape a threat.

Mimicry

The jumping spider genus Enoplomischus seems to mimic this ant genus.

Distribution

Odontomachus species are found in Central to South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

In the United States, Odontomachus haematodus was "recorded in Alabama back in 1956. But now researchers have officially confirmed that the species has spread across the Gulf Coast, at least as far east as Pensacola, Florida." In the past, "Odontomachus ruginodis was thought to be confined to the Orlando region"; however, Magdalena Sorger, a PhD candidate at North Carolina State University, "has confirmed a record of ruginodis more than a hundred miles north of Orlando, in Gainesville, Florida." Odontomachus relictus, however, is only found in "endangered scrub habitat on central Florida’s ancient sand ridges."

Species

O. haematodus worker

O. haematodus larva

• Odontomachus aciculatus F. Smith, 1863
• Odontomachus affinis Guerin-Meneville, 1844
• Odontomachus alius Sorger & Zettel, 2011
• Odontomachus allolabis Kempf, 1974
• Odontomachus angulatus Mayr, 1866
• Odontomachus animosus Smith, 1860
• Odontomachus assiniensis Emery, 1892
• Odontomachus banksi Forel, 1910
• Odontomachus bauri Emery, 1892
• Odontomachus biolleyi Forel, 1908
• Odontomachus biumbonatus Brown, 1976
• Odontomachus bradleyi Brown, 1976
• Odontomachus brunneus (Patton, 1894)
• Odontomachus caelatus Brown, 1976
• Odontomachus cephalotes Smith, 1863 (Indonesia, Australia, etc.)
• Odontomachus chelifer (Latreille, 1802)
• Odontomachus circulus Wang, 1993
• Odontomachus clarus Roger, 1861
• Odontomachus coquereli Roger, 1861
• Odontomachus cornutus Stitz, 1933
• Odontomachus desertorum Wheeler, 1915
• Odontomachus erythrocephalus Emery, 1890
• Odontomachus floresensis Brown, 1976 (Indonesia: Flores)
• Odontomachus fulgidus Wang, 1993
• Odontomachus granatus Wang, 1993
• Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1758) (South America, introduced to Australia prior to 1876)
• Odontomachus hastatus (Fabricius, 1804)
• Odontomachus imperator Emery, 1887
• Odontomachus infandus Smith, 1858
• Odontomachus insularis Guérin-Méneville, 1844
• Odontomachus kuroiwae (Matsumura, 1912)
• Odontomachus laticeps Roger, 1861
• Odontomachus latidens Mayr, 1867
• Odontomachus latissimus Viehmeyer, 1914
• Odontomachus malignus Smith, 1859
• Odontomachus mayi Mann, 1912
• Odontomachus meinerti Forel, 1905
• Odontomachus montanus Stitz, 1925
• Odontomachus monticola Emery, 1892
• Odontomachus mormo Brown, 1976
• Odontomachus nigriceps Smith, 1860
• Odontomachus opaciventris Forel, 1899
• Odontomachus opaculus Viehmeyer, 1912
• †Odontomachus paleomyagra Wappler, Dlussky, Engel, Prokop & Knor, 2014
• Odontomachus panamensis Forel, 1899
• Odontomachus papuanus Emery, 1887
• Odontomachus peruanus Stitz, 1933
• Odontomachus philippinus Emery, 1893
• †Odontomachus pseudobauri (De Andrade, 1994)
• Odontomachus relictus Deyrup & Cover, 2004
• Odontomachus rixosus Smith, 1857
• Odontomachus ruficeps Smith, 1858 (Australia)
• Odontomachus rufithorax Emery, 1911
• Odontomachus ruginodis Smith, 1937
• Odontomachus saevissimus Smith, 1858
• Odontomachus scalptus Brown, 1978
• Odontomachus schoedli Sorger & Zettel, 2011
• Odontomachus scifictus Sorger & Zettel, 2011
• Odontomachus silvestrii W.M. Wheeler, 1927
• Odontomachus simillimus F. Smith, 1858 (Australia, Fiji, etc.)
• †Odontomachus spinifer De Andrade, 1994
• Odontomachus spissus Kempf, 1962
• Odontomachus sumbensis Brown, 1976
• Odontomachus tensus Wang, 1993
• Odontomachus testaceus Emery, 1897
• Odontomachus troglodytes Santschi, 1914 (Africa, Madagascar, Inner Seychelles)
• Odontomachus turneri Forel, 1900 (Australia)
• Odontomachus tyrannicus Smith, 1859
• Odontomachus xizangensis Wang, 1993
• Odontomachus yucatecus Brown, 1976

External links

• Mississippi Entomology Museum: Pictures of worker and male O. haematodus
• Ant's super-fast bite is a built-in 'ejector seat'
• Ferocious ants bite like a bullet - BBC News, 21 August 2006. Elli Leadbeater. Retrieved 22 August 2006
• Man-trap jaws make ant fastest predator - Scotsman, 22 August 2006. John Von Radowitz. Retrieved 22 August 2006