Latch-mediated spring actuated (LaMSA) mechanisms have evolved independently in many groups of organisms across the tree of life, including multiple times in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). “Trap-jaw” ants possess spring loaded mandibles that allow them to swiftly incapacitate or kill elusive prey. Trap-jaw ants have the potential to serve as model organisms for studies on the relationship between morphological and functional diversity and the evolution of LaMSA mechanisms, but to date the feasibility of these studies is limited by a lack of performance data for many groups of trap-jaw ants. Here we use high speed videography and micro-CT to describe the functional morphology, strike kinematics, and latch performance of representative species from the Daceton genus group, which consists of the genera Acanthognathus, Colobostruma, Daceton, Epopostruma, Lenomyrmex, Mesostruma, Microdaceton, and Orectognathus. We found that Epopostruma and Orectognathus close their mandibles asynchronously, presumably by unilaterally contracting their labral adductor muscles, despite possessing a latching mechanism that is morphologically analogous to a separate trap-jaw ant group (Strumigenys) known to produce synchronous mandible closure. An exception is the soldier caste of the polymorphic species Orectognathus versicolor, which close their mandibles synchronously. We also show that, surprisingly, species in the genera Colobostruma and Mesostruma possess a mandible latching mechanism, suggesting that they are using a LaMSA mechanism despite lacking the mandible modifications present in other genera in this group. This study is part of a larger project examining the biomechanics and evolution of LaMSA mandibles in ants.