WEBVTT - There Was a Brutal Prehistoric "Hell Ant"

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Hey, brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is Christian Sager. Here, fire ants, carpenter ants, bull ants.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a lot of ant species that can cause

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<v Speaker 1>a great deal of harm. The worst one alive today,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the Guinness World Records, is the bulldog aunt.

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<v Speaker 1>It has killed at least three humans, some within fifteen minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>But perhaps the worst aunt ever was the hell aunt,

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<v Speaker 1>a prehistoric insect that was recently discovered encased in a

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<v Speaker 1>chunk of Myanmar amber dating to the Late Cretaceous period.

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<v Speaker 1>Evolutionary biologist Philip Barden of the New Jersey Institute of

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<v Speaker 1>Technology and his team wrote about the hell aunt discovery

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<v Speaker 1>in the journal Systemic Entomology. The hell aunt got its

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<v Speaker 1>name from its anatomy and behavior. Instead of having a

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<v Speaker 1>typical mouth, the hell aunt had blade that stuck upward,

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<v Speaker 1>think like tusks, plus a horn that was reinforced with metal.

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<v Speaker 1>Scientists don't know for sure how the hell ant used

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<v Speaker 1>its unusual appendages, but they have some theories. First, it

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<v Speaker 1>seems clear that the ants tusks and horn were mainly

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<v Speaker 1>used for catching prey. So here's one possible m O

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<v Speaker 1>when it came to finding dinner. When a tasty insect

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<v Speaker 1>passed nearby, the hell ance jaw tusks would flip the

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<v Speaker 1>insect up and onto its horn, impaling it. Spearing prey

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<v Speaker 1>does take a toll, though, which is probably why the

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<v Speaker 1>hell ants horn was clad with metal. And if that

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<v Speaker 1>isn't gruesome enough, researchers say this prehistoric insect might have

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<v Speaker 1>had some vampire like tendencies to When the ants snagged

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<v Speaker 1>its prey, its tusk like jaws clothes to form a gutter,

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<v Speaker 1>which may have been a means of funneling the insects

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<v Speaker 1>blood right down into the ant's gullet. The hell ants

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<v Speaker 1>scientific known as Lingua mirmes vlady, was discovered in a

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<v Speaker 1>chunk of amber that was nine million years old. Although

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<v Speaker 1>it's unusual appendages were likely used to catch its food,

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<v Speaker 1>researchers say they may have occasionally been used defensively. This

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<v Speaker 1>is not the only insects sporting metal either. Some present

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<v Speaker 1>day termite species actually have zinc and manganese in their mandibles. However,

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<v Speaker 1>there are no modern ants similarly equipped. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Melanie rad Zeki McManus, produced by Tristan McNeil

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<v Speaker 1>and for more on this and other topics. Please visit

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<v Speaker 1>us at how stuff works dot com.