an ancient ant species with a frightening body part. Called a hell ant, this ant has a striking difference with the ants we find today. The newly discovered species has a mouth made of metal to suck the blood of its prey.
Named Latin Linguamyrmex vladi, this ancient ant was found in an area of Myanmar and is estimated to be 98 million years old.
L vladi belongs to the group of haidomyrmecines, a group of extinct ants. They live in chalk and can be recognized from the strange mouth that moves vertically.
Although included in the family of ants, but researchers reveal that L vladi is actually not the ancestors of ants that now. They belong to a group of extinct ants before the ancestors of modern ants appeared to begin their lineage.
Trapped in amber allows researchers to see the details of this amazing prehistoric species, including its horrible body parts.
L vladi has some kind of giant blade that faces upward at the mouth. Its jaw is also surrounded by movable hairs similar to the jaws of modern ants. This ant also has a kind of horn on the top of its jaw which is probably used to hold prey.
The study, led by Philip Barden of the New Jersey Institute of Technology also found a tube-like tube between the lower jaws. Researchers speculate that these ants may not chew their food, but suck it up because the strange jaws do not function to chew. Interestingly, X-ray scans reveal if the ant part is reinforced with metal particles. Researchers argue that if ants have the ability to collect the metallic elements of food then distribute to parts of the body that require reinforcing elements.
"Insects are known to absorb metals for the ovipositor or insect parts used to store eggs and lower jaws.They absorb metal elements, especially calcium, manganese, zinc and iron, to increase strength and reduce wear and tear," the team wrote in the study.
Having a metal horn makes this hell ants able to survive against its prey and make it easier also to squeeze its horn into soft-bodied prey.