4 ms·

Well, how this compares to the http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp ?

aesh2Xa1 8y ago
The authors mention the mantis shrimp in the first sentence. So, presumably, the ant is faster. >CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp: There's a faster appendage in town. According to a new study, the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at speeds of up to 90 meters per second (more than 200 mph), making it the fastest animal movement on record.
- pathsjs 8y ago
  Uh, sorry, I don't know how I could have missed that!
- SEJeff 8y ago
  The mantis shrimp is still absolutely savage
hbgb 8y ago
First line of the article is "Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp". From wikipedia[0], the mantis shrimp claws move at 51mph vs the ant mandibles of over 200mph. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp
gilleain 8y ago
From the paper at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181447 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181447 it is 90 m/s vs mantis shrimp's 30 m/s. > The duration of the snap movement is one thousand times shorter than the snap of a human finger and five thousand times shorter than the blink of an eye Compared to other ants: > The power-amplified mandible strikes of other trap-jaw ants, such as the genera Odontomachus and Myrmoteras, take three to sixty times longer than the snaps of Mystrium And further: > Snap-jaw ant mandibles exceed the velocities and accelerations of other arthropod power-amplified movements, including trap-jaw spider chelicerae (8.5 m s−1, 103 × g) [34], mantis shrimp dactyls (30 m s−1, 104 × g) [35], and froghopper jumps (4.7 m s−1, 102 × g) [36], and have 10–75 times the power density of these movements.
- m_eiman 8y ago
  Seems like 30 m/s through water would be a lot harder to do than 90 m/s through air, but perhaps at those speeds things don't make sense any longer :)
  - skj 8y ago
    Easy to find out - put the shrimp in the air and see how fast it goes.

The authors mention the mantis shrimp in the first sentence. So, presumably, the ant is faster. >CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp: There's a faster appendage in town. According to a new study, the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at speeds of up to 90 meters per second (more than 200 mph), making it the fastest animal movement on record.

pathsjs 8y ago
Uh, sorry, I don't know how I could have missed that!
SEJeff 8y ago
The mantis shrimp is still absolutely savage

hbgb 8y ago

First line of the article is "Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp". From wikipedia[0], the mantis shrimp claws move at 51mph vs the ant mandibles of over 200mph. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp

gilleain 8y ago

From the paper at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181447 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181447 it is 90 m/s vs mantis shrimp's 30 m/s. > The duration of the snap movement is one thousand times shorter than the snap of a human finger and five thousand times shorter than the blink of an eye Compared to other ants: > The power-amplified mandible strikes of other trap-jaw ants, such as the genera Odontomachus and Myrmoteras, take three to sixty times longer than the snaps of Mystrium And further: > Snap-jaw ant mandibles exceed the velocities and accelerations of other arthropod power-amplified movements, including trap-jaw spider chelicerae (8.5 m s−1, 103 × g) [34], mantis shrimp dactyls (30 m s−1, 104 × g) [35], and froghopper jumps (4.7 m s−1, 102 × g) [36], and have 10–75 times the power density of these movements.

m_eiman 8y ago
Seems like 30 m/s through water would be a lot harder to do than 90 m/s through air, but perhaps at those speeds things don't make sense any longer :)
- skj 8y ago
  Easy to find out - put the shrimp in the air and see how fast it goes.