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Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in Odontomachus have a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180 degrees.
These jaws are locked in place, and can snap shut on prey or objects when trigger hairs on the jaw are touched. The mandbles are powerful and fast, giving the ant its common name. The mandibles either kill or maim the prey, allowing the ant to bring it back to the nest. Trap-jaw ants can simply lock and snap its jaws again if one bite is not enough, or to cut off bits of larger food. Trap-jaw ants can use its jaws without locking them, for other tasks such as nest building and care of larva.
The jumping spider genus Enoplomischus seems to mimic this ant genus.
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