For Dr. Roy, mantis Shrimp vs. trap-Jawed Ants...who is faster!?!

[Uriel]

So, I have now seen two conflicting reports on the speed of movement for these two animals.

One states that the ant strikes in .33 milliseconds while a mantis is recorded at 2 milliseconds.

The other states that the ant's strike is recorded at 14 meters per second, whie the strike of a mantis may exceed 23 meters per second...


Help Dr. Roy!!!


-Ron

PS: Not a life threatening situation, but a freidn at work is ribbing me about 'finding something faster than my killer-shrimps'.
I invited him to throw a trap-jawed ant into my tanks, he declined.

 

[danskim]

I read about the ant, and i found that the stomatapod's fastest recorded strike is faster than the ant's. (23 m/s vs 17 m/s).

 

[jrsy91gmc]

I think you're sort of comparing apples and oranges, in terms of what you're measuring...

The ant "strikes" in less time... the mantis achieves a higher velocity. Stand close to the wall and punch it with your fist... now stand back a little and swing as hard as you can. The second time, your fist is probably moving faster, but the whole strike takes longer, cause there's a lot more movement and distance involved...

The total range of movement of the ant's strike is probably lower, so the whole thing is over faster. I haven't seen a trap-jaw ant, but somehow I bet it's quite a bit smaller than a Peacock...

The ant may be QUICKER than the Peacock, but it isn't faster...

 

[Gonodactylus]

From published reports, the duration of the ant's snap is shorter than that of the stomatopods we have recorded. However, if you consider the size of the appendage (jaw) and the total distance moved, the stomatopod achieves greater speed. Finally, the stomatopod strikes were recorded in water while the ant jaw was filmed in air.

ROy

 

[kalim]

To see what trap jaw ants look like:

http://www.myrmecos.net/myrmicinae/orectognathus.html
http://www.myrmecos.net/ants/odontomachus.html

As noted, because of the size difference, the ant can snap its trap shut faster. I have yet to see an Odontomachus ant crack snail shells though, heavy or otherwise, so the power is definitely on the stomatopod side ;-)