This is a list of the fastest animals in the world, by types of animal.

Fastest organism

The

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

is the fastest bird, and the fastest member of the animal kingdom, with a

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

speed of over . The fastest land animal is the

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

. Among the fastest animals in the sea is the black marlin, with uncertain and conflicting reports of recorded speeds. When drawing comparisons between different classes of animals, an alternative unit is sometimes used for organisms: ''body length per second''. On this basis the 'fastest' organism on earth, relative to its body length, is the Southern Californian mite, '' Paratarsotomus macropalpis'', which has a speed of 322 body lengths per second. The equivalent speed for a human, running as fast as this mite, would be , or approximately

Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...

1.7. The speed of the ''P. macropalpis'' is far in excess of the previous record holder, the Australian

tiger beetle Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, '' Rivacindela hudsoni'', can run at a speed of , or about 125 body lengths per second. ...

''Rivacindela eburneola'', which is the fastest insect in the world relative to body size, with a recorded speed of , or 171 body lengths per second. The

, the fastest land mammal, scores at only 16 body lengths per second.

Invertebrates

Fish

Due to physical constraints, fish may be incapable of exceeding swim speeds of . The larger reported figures below are therefore highly questionable:

Fastest organism

Invertebrates

Fish

Amphibians

Reptiles

Birds

Mammals

See also

Notes

References