When you think of fast animals, it’s probably something like cheetahs, or greyhounds. But when measuring in body lengths per second, the arthropod world is unmatched. And now we have a new record-holder — the fastest speed ever measured in an ant.
The winner is the Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina), and the speed is 855 millimetres (33.66 inches) per second.
That may not sound like much to you, but that’s 108 times the insect’s body length per second. Even the cheetah can only manage 16 body lengths per second. Usain Bolt’s top speed is 6.2; if he could travel at Saharan silver ant speeds, his top running speed would be around 800 kilometres per hour.
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