TY  - JOUR
AU  - Gibson, J.C.
AU  - Larabee, F.J.
AU  - Touchard, A.
AU  - Orivel, J.
AU  - Suarez, A.V.
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Mandible strike kinematics of the trap-jaw ant genus Anochetus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
JO  - Journal of Zoology
SP  - 119
EP  - 128
VL  - 306
IS  - 2
KW  - catapult mechanism
KW  - comparative biomechanics
KW  - Formicidae
KW  - functional morphology
KW  - kinematics
KW  - mandible strike
KW  - power amplification
N2  - High-speed power-amplification mechanisms are common throughout the animal kingdom. In ants, power-amplified trap-jaw mandibles have evolved independently at least four times, including once in the subfamily Ponerinae which contains the sister genera Odontomachus and Anochetus. In Odontomachus, mandible strikes have been relatively well described and can occur in <0.15 ms and reach speeds of over 60 m s−1. In contrast, the kinematics of mandible strikes have not been examined in Anochetus, whose species are smaller and morphologically distinct from Odontomachus. In this study, we describe the mandible strike kinematics of four species of Anochetus representative of the morphological, phylogenetic, and size diversity present within the genus. We also compare their strikes to two representative species of Odontomachus. We found that two species, Anochetus targionii and Anochetus paripungens, have mandible strikes that overall closely resemble those found in Odontomachus, reaching a mean maximum rotational velocity and acceleration of around 3.7 × 104 rad s−1 and 8.5 × 108 rad s−2, respectively. This performance is consistent with predictions based on body size scaling relationships described for Odontomachus. In contrast, Anochetus horridus and Anochetus emarginatus have slower strikes relative to the other species of Anochetus and Odontomachus, reaching mean maximum rotational velocity and acceleration of around 1.3 × 104 rad s−1 and 2 × 108 rad s−2, respectively. This variation in strike performance among species of Anochetus likely reflects differences in evolutionary history, physiology, and natural history among species. © 2018 The Zoological Society of London
UR  - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85054172978&doi=10.1111%2fjzo.12580&partnerID=40&md5=9bec82854cdfe1285d12e552a9ca6d8a
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12580
N1  - Export Date: 15 October 2018
ID  - Gibson_etal2018
ER  -