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Midden material was collected during three sampling events and sorted by material type and size. Snail shells were identified to either genus or species level, fracture locations were documented, and representative shells were fractured experimentally using major worker mandibles to quantify shell-breaking forces. The forces varied widely depending on snail species, growth stage, and fracture location, with juvenile shells and mechanically weak regions fracturing at substantially lower forces than adult shells or their reinforced regions. Nanoindentation revealed strong regional and caste-specific differences in mandible mechanical properties, with highest hardness and Young\u2019s modulus at the masticatory margin of major workers. Elemental analyses showed enrichment of zinc and other metals in cutting edges, consistent with enhanced wear resistance. This study integrates ecological, mechanical, and material data to provide a mechanistic framework for interpreting snail shell occurrence in ant middens.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1116\/6.0005368","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T12:00:11Z","timestamp":1778500811000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/aip-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Shell damage and mandible mechanics in the ant\n                    <i>Messor wasmanni<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1116","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2158-9806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wencke","family":"Krings","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Periodontology, Leipzig University 1 , Liebigstra\u00dfe 12, Leipzig 04103,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Department of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universit\u00e4t Hamburg 2 , Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Section of Mammalogy and Palaeoanthropology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change 3 , Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Kiel University 4 , Am Botanischen Garten 1\u20139, Kiel 24118,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1604-1689","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bernhard","family":"Hausdorf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universit\u00e4t Hamburg 5 , Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Section of Malacology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change 6 , Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9712-7953","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stanislav N.","family":"Gorb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Kiel University 4 , Am Botanischen Garten 1\u20139, Kiel 24118,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"20","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026051108000543000_c1","volume-title":"The Ants","year":"1990"},{"key":"2026051108000543000_c2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.25849\/myrmecol.news_017:133","volume":"17","year":"2012","journal-title":"Myrmecol. 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