Of the 326 known genera of ants, only three jump using their legs. Three others are known to jump using their jaws as a point of support, but there was no record of any that did so using these two parts of their anatomy interchangeably. The amazing athlete is Odontomachus rixosus, a kind of trap-jaw ant, and this behavior is described in a study just published by Magdalena Sorger of North Carolina State University.
It was known that this ant is capable of jumping by propelling itself with its jaws, something that allows it to escape threats and that it does in two ways: it either closes its jaws against the ground, which propels it into the air; or she uses them against whatever scares or attacks her to propel herself back and run away. In both cases, the insect does not seem to control the direction of its jump and often falls on its back.
But Sorger has observed in his fieldwork in Borneo a hitherto unknown jumping behavior in the different Odontomachus species. This behavior seems to have a character exclusively intended for flight, and it is very peculiar: the ant jumps leaning on its legs or on its jaws, and leaps to the places it wants.
Sorger, who does not know if this skill is also useful for hunting, since he has only observed it in cases in which the ant wanted to flee, now plans to study the physiological mechanisms that allow this function to the jaws and legs , to analyze what Evolutionary advantages could be derived from this quality.
You can see how the ant jumps in this video:
Image : Odontomachus rixosus is the only ant species that jumps using both its legs and its jaws. Credit : Magdalena Sorger
