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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A University of Utah biologist has discovered some ants he says look like monsters under a microscope.
Entomologist Jack Longino has identified 33 previously unknown species of predatory ants in Central America and the Caribbean.
The biology professor calls the ants the stuff of nightmares. He says they have fierce jaws bristling with sharp teeth from faces that look like shields.
Some have jaws that work sideways for a more terrifying look.
Longino has published his findings online in the journal "Zootaxa."
The new ant species are tiny — smaller than a grain of rice. They live amid rotting wood and dead leaves on forest floors, feasting on soft-bodied insects. Some coat themselves with a thin layer of clay, possibly as camouflage.
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