Search for the fastest animal on the planet and you'd get Cheetah as the prompt answer. But looks like there's a competitor and too small in comparison to a Cheetah. Dracula Ant, a tiny creature, barely a few millimetres in size is the fastest mover on the earth due to its jaw snapping speed! So while a Cheetah may run at a speed of 60 km/h, it is nowhere to this ant's snapping. A Dracula ant snaps its jaws at 320 kilometres per hour. The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. Army Ants Build Bridge to Attack Wasp Nest! Amazing Piece of Engineering Captured in Viral Video. 

These tiny sized creatures can be found in Australia, tropical Africa and South-East Asia. These are blood-sucking creatures and according to researchers, these ants use their jaws like a catapult, push them together to create a pressure. This pressure is so strong that it can knock out centipedes. These ants so not just kill the centipede but also carry them back to the nest to feed their younger ones. Exploding Ants to Snake Turning Caterpillar, The Defense Mechanisms of Some Insects are Proof of Amazing Nature. 

Watch Video of Dracula Ants Snapping Their Jaws

Getting their moment on the camera wasn't easy as they are incredibly fast. The researchers used X-ray imaging technology to see their anatomy and understand how the movement works. These ants get the name Dracula because of their unusual feeding habit, which is no less than like cannibalism. Since the ants cannot process solid food, they prey on the larvae and chew holes into them and drink their blood. They stun and kill. "Even among ants that power-amplify their jaws, the Dracula ants are unique. Instead of using three different parts for the spring, latch and lever arm, all three are combined in the mandible," as informs a researcher Fredrick J. Larabee, who carried out their study.

The Dracula ants are no less than dangerous as they use their motion like a mousetrap. The 'snap-jaw' or 'trap-jaw' ants take just about 23 microseconds to eat their prey. Their jaws are flat and bending as compared to normal ants. So while Cheetah remains the fastest animal on the earth, Dracula ants are the fastest movers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 12, 2018 04:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).