アギトアリ顎部の高速運動を生む関節構造の立体模型を用いた解析

抄録

The trap-jaw ant genus Odontomachus closes her mandible to catch prey quite quickly. The purpose of this study is to examine the mechanism how such a fast movement is realized. Since the velocity of closing exceeds the contraction velocity of a muscle, it is considered that there will be a mechanism to store energy and release it at once for realization of high-speed motion in the exoskeleton. We prepare a scale model of Odontomachus with micro CT scanning their exoskeleton data and 3D printer. Using model, we find three regions of contact points of the temporomandibular joint and the exoskeletal part meshes with each other at one of the regions. This structure is considered to be related to a lock mechanism for fast movement of Odontomachus.