The natural world is full of amazing feats and facts. Last time we focused on big facts. This time, it’s all about speed fast facts…

Fastest fish

The Indo-Pacific sailfish is the fastest fish in the world. It was once thought this streamlined predator could reach speeds of up to 111km/hr in short sprints, although slower, but still impressive, speeds of 37 to 55 kilometres per hour are currently estimated.

Indo-Pacific sailfish

Swiftest birds

The peregrine falcon is thought to be the fastest species in the world, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. The fastest bird on land is the infamous ostrich. With a stride length of 3 to 5 metres, this giant of a bird can reach speeds up to 70 kilometres per hour when sprinting.

Ostrich female running

Speediest mammals

We all know that the cheetah is the fastest land mammal in the world, able to maintain a speed of up to 87 kilometres an hour for 200 to 300 metres. But did you know that the pronghorn, the fastest land mammal in the Americas, is a close match? The pronghorn can reach top speeds of up to 86 kilometres per hour, and maintain speeds of 70 kilometres per hour for several kilometres at a time.

Pronghorn herd running in habitat

Snappiest turtles

You tend not to think of turtles as fast, aggressive predators. But the frog-faced softshell turtle certainly is, having  been described as one of the fastest striking animals on the planet, with a bite that can crush bone. Luckily for us, it usually targets fish and crustaceans.

Frog-faced softshell turtle

Rapid flapping

No fast fact file would be complete without a tribute to the impressive flying abilities of hummingbirds. An incredibly quick wing beat of up to 200 beats per second means that hummingbirds, like the ruby-throated hummingbird, are able to hover and fly backwards. Unsurprisingly this uses a lot of energy, and a breathing rate of up to 500 breaths per minute is needed to meet the highest oxygen requirement of any vertebrate.

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Do you know of any other speedy species facts? If so, let us know!

Lauren Pascoe, ARKive Media Researcher

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Feeling quizzical? Here’s some fun facts from the natural world to impress your friends and family with. The theme this week is big!

Biggest eyes

Tarsiers, like the Philippine tarsier, have the biggest eyes, relative to body weight, of any mammal. They are also able to turn their head by almost 360 degrees, so few insects can sneak past! The largest eye on earth belongs to the colossal squid – at 28 centimetres across, it is bigger than the Philippine tarsiers entire body.

Biggest insect

The predatory bush cricket is the largest insect in Europe at a whopping 15 centimetres long. That’s big, but a long way off the world’s longest insect, measuring in at over half a metre. Yikes.

Biggest egg (in relation to body size)

Spare a thought for the female kiwi. Egg laying must not be a pleasant experience with the largest egg to body size ratio, reaching up to 15 percent of the females total body weight.

Biggest mammalian claws

The giant anteater holds the record for largest claws of any mammal. Its other claim to fame is having the lowest body temperature of any land mammal, reaching 32 degrees Celcius (in comparison, we average a balmy 37 degrees Celcius).

Biggest penis (in relation to body size)

The sedentary nature of barnacles, like the acorn barnacle, makes reproduction a difficult affair, as they can’t leave their shells to mate. To overcome this, barnacles have evolved the longest penis size relative to body length – at eight times longer than the body.

Biggest wingspan

The wandering albertross has the largest wingspan for any bird. Reaching up to 3.5 metres, this would dwarf the tallest human by a metre! 

 Lauren Pascoe, ARKive Media Researcher

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