South and Southeast Asia from northeastern India and Myanmar to Malaysia and Indonesia
Fine-art photographic collection
Myrmoteras binghamii
A tiny trap-jaw ant with a 270-degree gape and a strike completed in about half a millisecond.
About this species
Myrmoteras binghamiiForel, 1893
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Myrmoteras binghamii is an Asian trap-jaw ant that hunts small arthropods in leaf litter. Its long mandibles are opened extraordinarily wide, locked under spring tension and released by a specialised latch mechanism.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Myrmoteras
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
South and Southeast Asia from northeastern India and Myanmar to Malaysia and IndonesiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Humid forest leaf litter and low vegetation.
Workers forage singly through litter and on low plants.
Small soft-bodied arthropods, including springtails.
Social; colonies are small compared with many conspicuous ants.
What makes this species remarkable?
Its mandibles can close in roughly half a millisecond — hundreds of times faster than a human blink and at speeds approaching 80 kilometres per hour.
The jaws open to around 270 degrees, the widest documented gape among trap-jaw ants and almost a full backward fold against the head.
Before firing, parts of the head bend elastically to store energy; a latch releases that stored power as a spring-driven strike.
More photographs
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