Hmmm…I’m pretty sure The Incredible Hulk, given that he can leap into the stratosphere or something, is the fastest land animal of all…
But seriously, insects scare the crap out of me. Maybe not these, but things like flying scorpions (technically arachnids, but still), cockroaches (which can survive nukes), mosquitoes (which kill 750,000 people a year), and so on. The only thing scarier is microbes and viruses, because you can’t even see them. And. They. Are. EVERYWHERE. Look at the Black Death and the Spanish Flu. Then look at current problems like SARS, MERS, AIDS, and bird flu. Humans aren’t the dominant species on this planet. Far, far, far from it…
A tiny mite no larger than a sesame seed holds the record as the fastest land animal in the world, according to new research, when measured in proportion to its size.
While the cheetah is commonly thought of as one of the speediest creatures in the animal kingdom, and moves at 16 body lengths per second, the Paratarsotomus macropalpis trounces the big cat with a whopping 322 body lengths per second, according to a study by Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. This is almost twice as quick as what was previously believed to be the fastest animal, the Australian Tiger Beetle, which moves at 171 body lengths per second.
Because of the mite’s minuscule proportions and inordinately fast pace, the research team was unable to use traditional means of measuring its velocity. “We can’t actually chase after a mite because they move much too quickly for that,” said Jonathan Wright…
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