Odontomachus

Odontomachus is a genus of ants, family Formicidae, subfamily Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, commonly called trap-jaw ants, comprising 84 valid species as of 2026, 80 extant and 4 extinct, found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world including Central and South America, Asia, Australia and Africa, with several species documented spreading across the Gulf Coast and Florida in the United States. The genus is defined by a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180 degrees that snap shut with tremendous speed and force when sensory hairs are triggered, giving trap-jaw ants the second-fastest moving predatory appendages in the animal kingdom, with jaw-closing speeds reaching peak velocities between 126 and 230 kilometers per hour and closing within approximately 130 microseconds.