Mites Beat Cheetahs as the World's Fastest Land Animal
- 10 years ago
If you ask most people what animal is the fastest in the world they would probably say it’s a cheetah, but according to a recent study that measured speed in terms of body lengths per second, a tiny mite, native to Southern California, is the fastest land animal. The mite was recorded traveling at 322 body lengths per second, which is an accurate measurement of relative speed.
If you ask most people what animal is the fastest in the world they would probably say it’s a cheetah, but according to a recent study that measured speed in terms of body lengths per second, a tiny mite, native to Southern California, is the fastest land animal.
The mite was recorded traveling at 322 body lengths per second, which is an accurate measurement of relative speed.
If a human were to move as fast as the mite, they would have to be running at around 13 hundred miles an hour.
Doctor Jonathan Wright, a professor of biology at Pomona College, is quoted as saying: “We were looking at the overarching question of whether there is an upper limit to the relative speed or stride frequency that can be achieved. When the values for mites are compared with data from other animals, they indicate that, if there is an upper limit, we haven't found it yet.”
Before researchers tracked the speed of mites, the Australian tiger beetle was thought to be the fastest land animal, moving at 171 body lengths per second.
Another interesting discovery from the study shows that the mites can run on concrete as hot as 140 degrees, which is higher than the lethal temperature for most animals.
If you ask most people what animal is the fastest in the world they would probably say it’s a cheetah, but according to a recent study that measured speed in terms of body lengths per second, a tiny mite, native to Southern California, is the fastest land animal.
The mite was recorded traveling at 322 body lengths per second, which is an accurate measurement of relative speed.
If a human were to move as fast as the mite, they would have to be running at around 13 hundred miles an hour.
Doctor Jonathan Wright, a professor of biology at Pomona College, is quoted as saying: “We were looking at the overarching question of whether there is an upper limit to the relative speed or stride frequency that can be achieved. When the values for mites are compared with data from other animals, they indicate that, if there is an upper limit, we haven't found it yet.”
Before researchers tracked the speed of mites, the Australian tiger beetle was thought to be the fastest land animal, moving at 171 body lengths per second.
Another interesting discovery from the study shows that the mites can run on concrete as hot as 140 degrees, which is higher than the lethal temperature for most animals.