14 DAY TRIAL // Cheetahs are widely regarded as the world's fastest creatures. Still, researchers with Pomona College claim that, as fast as these felines might be, a Southern California mite can pretty much put them to shame.
This mite, whose official name is Paratarsotomus macropalpis, is about as big as a sesame seed. However, studies have shown that it can cover distances of up to 322 times its body length in just one second.
To put things into perspective, it must be said that, in order to do the same, a human would have to run at about 1,300 miles per hour (some 2,092 kilometers per hour).
“It’s so cool to discover something that’s faster than anything else, and just to imagine, as a human, going that fast compared to your body length is really amazing,” said researcher Samuel Rubin.
Interestingly enough, this Southern California mite is also surprisingly heat-resistant. Thus, it has been shown to run on concrete whose temperature was one of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).
“They’re operating at temperatures that seem to preclude activities of any other animal group. We’ve seen them running where there were no other animals visibly active,” explained Prof. Jonathan Wright.
In case anyone was wondering, the previous record holder for the world's fastest land animal is the Australian tiger beetle. Apparently, this insect can travel across a distance equivalent to 171 times its body length in just one second.