Animals use a variety of strategies to capture prey, some of which clearly kick ass (see the sniper-like archer fish, which spits at flies from underwater). But these strategies are even more awesome when scientists film them and produce super slow-motion replays, complete with awkward faces and outtakes. Here's a gallery of some of nature's finest prey-capture instant replays.
Above:
Chinese Giant Salamander
Giant salamanders (
Andrias davidianus), which can grow to more than 5 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds,
actually displace their jawbones to generate suction and slurp up prey, reports a study published March 5 in
Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
"Giant salamanders have an extremely powerful suction strike," said study coauthor
Egon Heiss of the University of Antwerp. Heiss suggests that other aquatic organisms with reduced or reorganized gills, such as whales, might use a similar mechanism to vacuum up meals.
Hunted for food and folk medicine, and faced with habitat pollution and destruction, Chinese giant salamanders -- though magnificent and terrifying --
are critically endangered, with some estimates suggesting a more than 80 percent population reduction since 1960.
Credit: Egon Heiss
