The Fastest Animals on Earth

Here is an unusual list of the Fastest Animals and there won’t be a cheetah in sight! In order to survive, an organism is likely to have at least one skill that it can perform better than any other creature, or will become perfectly suited to a particular way of life. With this in mind, we’ll take a look at some animals whose ability to use unusual parts of their body with great speed gives them an edge. Think of it as a mostly alternative list of the fastest animals.
Found worldwide, peregrine falcons are efficient hunting machines, and among the fastest creatures on Earth. They can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour when on the trail of another bird – and they’re large enough to prey on rooks, magpies, hooded crows and jackdaws.This colourful crustacean possesses an extremely specialised pair of front limbs known as ‘raptorial claws’. Though they’re designed for catching prey, they can move with such a devastatingly quick ‘punch’ that they have been known to shatter glass aquariums.This Central American amphibian can produce the most powerful burst of muscular power known in the animal kingdom – using its tongue. The giant palm salamander releases over 18,000 watts of power per kilogram of muscle as it flicks its tongue at incredible speed to catch fast-moving insects. Some species possess tongues that are as much as 80% of the animal’s entire body length.Like most hummingbirds, Anna’s hummingbirds flap their wings at an incredible 50 times a second. This is quick enough that the human eye cannot perceive the individual beats. This is made possible because of their small body size, fast heart rate and high body temperature. But the downside to this specialised lifestyle is that they must consequently feed once every ten minutes or so throughout the day.

moreless