New ant species discovered with a metal reinforced mouth parts
This article was originally posted at Amazing Zoology . View original article at http://amzoo.in/ybe34 © Phillip Barden, Hollister W. Herhold & David A. Grimaldi Contents 1 Newly discovered extinct ant species 2 What is a trap jaw mechanism? 3 Taxonomic position of new species 4 Mouthparts make these ants unique 5 So how did they eat? 6 Bibliography Newly discovered extinct ant species A new species of trap jaw ant and has been described by a group of scientists from USA. This new species of ant described is already extinct and estimated to have lived almost 100 million years ago. The specimen was found preserved in amber dated 98 million years from Myanmar. What is a trap jaw mechanism? Ants with trap jaw mechanism can keep their mandible in open position. Then they can close it rapidly by striking it with clypeus above. (Clypeus is a broad plate at the front of an insect’s head.) Clypeus is usually reinforced in these ants. Most of the trap jaw ants have a trigger...