Armature of the Mantis armor as a Boxing Bag

2010/10/05 Aulestiarte Lete, Izaro - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Biologia

The Mantis kisquilla presents an elegant armor. And in addition to protecting yourself from predators, this strong outer coverage has another function. In fact, some of the biggest enemies of this animal are usually other comrades, who attack him with passion to expel him from his guards (see this video).

During these attacks, the destroyer uses its hammer knitting to sharply beat the hard tail of the Mantis kiser (Neogonodactylus wennerae) with a force thousands of times greater than the weight of his body. There are two options to withstand this type of shock: revert all this energy to the aggressor, as if it were a trampoline, or scatter it as a boxing bag.

To understand the behavior of the armour of the corners of Mantis, the researchers threw a steel ball over several of them dead. By connecting steel with the skeleton nearly 70% of the impact energy was dispersed. That is, they acted following the model of boxing bags.

Image: Image: Silke Baron.