WATCH | Dracula ant's jaw snap is fastest on Earth at 320km/h

12 December 2018 - 10:52
By Staff reporter

The cheetah may be able to run faster than any other animal, but it's got nothing on the Dracula ant's speed. 

Scientists have discovered that the ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at up to 321km/h or 90m a second, making it the fastest animal movement on record.

The Guardian reports the Dracula ants use the explosive motion to attack, stun and kill prey, which is then fed to their larvae.

Their name derives from their unusual feeding habit, which involves a form of nondestructive cannibalism, according to the Guardian.

The adult ants are unable to process solid food; instead, they feed prey to their larvae and then chew holes in the larvae and drink their blood. Scientists call the arrangement a "social stomach".

The findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science