Animal speed and athletism

[Supercommunist]

Don't think we have this thread:

Video of a needlefish swimming at incredibly impressive speeds.

www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/comments/r8qu5m/really_fast_food_a_needlefish_evading_a_dolphin/

[Infinity Blade]

We do have two threads dedicated to the speed of giant dinosaurs and land mammals. There is also a thread dedicated to carnivoran top speeds, but I'm not sure if we can, or even want to, somehow bring all these together. So for now I think I'm content with this being a separate thread for animals in general.

[Supercommunist]

This vid's pretty cray cray.

www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/comments/r9nhei/horneyed_ghost_crabs_can_move_100_bodylengths_per/

[Supercommunist]

Red-breasted Mergansers can fly at 80 mph.
sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v063n03/p0265-p0265.pdf

[Supercommunist]

I have recently gained an interest in figuring out what is a typical sprinting speed for a fit human that isn't an uber dedicated sprinter.


According to one paper ancient aboriginal footprints suggests that a tall lanky man that weighed an estimated 66 kilos could achieve a running speed of 37.3 kilometers per hour on an unideal running surface.

The most impressive track in terms of speed is T8. These
footprints are 295 mm long and 100 mm wide; the estimated
height of the person who made the tracks is 1.94 0.15 m
(w 6.4 ft), close to that of the T1 individual. The tracks
indicate that this individual was running the fastest of any
person at the site. Pace length increases from 1.8 to 1.9 m
over 11 m, indicating acceleration, and speed is estimated at
w 20 km hr1 The surface on which this person was running
was drying mud that left detailed impressions of foot architecture, with mud oozing between the toes, and slight heal
slippage on the surface

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248405001946?via%3Dihub

Some articles floating around the internet use this evidence to suggest that ancient people could match or exceed Usain bolt's speed if they were given the same advantages but I am skeptical of that claim. Due to the sheer number of people that live in the modern era, we're bound to produce exceptionally talented individuals and Usain Bolt almost certainly possesses those rare 00.01% genes.


Also recently found a neat website that records the top speeds of various dog breeds competing in Orlando:

www.apps.akc.org/apps/fastcat_ranking/

Figured I would also post the top 5 speeds of my favorite dog breeds.

Edit: Looks like copy and pasting messed up the format. The numbers at the end represent are in miles per hour. Also didn't realize the word "*****" was censored.

Doberman:

GCHB CH Del Rey's Black Russian CD BN RA BCAT CGC TKI Dog 31.18
2 CH Mi-Ti's Judge Judy BCAT ***** 30.08
3 Thor Exceptional Mastercopy CA DCAT Dog 30.07
4 Bowman's Striking Archer CA DCAT Dog 29.71
4 Titan Menapace-Gross RA CAX3 FCAT6 SWN SCNE SCA WAC DS DJ CGCA TKN BN-V Dog 29.71
5 CH Soquel's Fortunate Son DCAT RATN CGC TKN Dog 28.92

Bull terrier.

Oc Dogmore At Twilight O'Malvern BCAT ***** 26.11
2 Benny Loafers BCAT Dog 25.88
3 Top Notch Mista Hyde Yo Wife BCAT CGCA TKI Dog 25.01
4 Glentom One Sweet Momint DCAT RATO CGC TKN ***** 24.99
5 Day Day SWN CGC TKI Dog 24.88

Tibetan masstiff.

1 Ridgeland's Princess Amala BCAT ***** 23.97
2 Aujudon's Major And Midas Salute Pawmo At Zarst BCAT ***** 20.44
3 CH Stone's Princess Tashi CGC TKN ***** 18.41
4 Snowspirits Andeye Amalthat CA CGC Dog 18.22

Malamute:

Ixa's Clever Cody BN RI OAP NJP FCAT3 ACT2 TKA Dog 26.75
2 GCH CH Vykon's Ixa I'M A Dreamer At Ilannak RI DCAT SWN CGCA CGCU TKE VHMA Dog 25.98
3 GCH CH Onak's Tsawake The Odds Are In Your Favor CA Dog 25.58
4 Ggm Banshee's Midnight Sioux DCAT ***** 25.37
5 CH Lakopac's Koda Bear Of The Yukon BN RE FCAT2 ACT2 SWN SCA SIA SHDN RATM CZ8G CGC TKI ATT Dog 25.30

Irish wolfhound.

1 Lions Heart Queen Isabeau BCAT ***** 28.96
2 Lady Gyda Jeraz Of Odin Ridge Wolves JC ***** 28.46
3 Freya's Valerian Steel Quickened By Odin's Wolves ***** 28.08
4 Odin Ridge Wolves Rocky Road 2 Dublin JC BCAT CGC Dog 27.63
5 Alloy

Caucasian Ovcharka.

1 Arman CM UD PCDX BN GN GO VER RN FDC CAA TKA Dog 24.42
2 Hranitel Gor Shahe ***** 20.05
3 Cazanova Sila V Krovi BCAT CGCA Dog 19.29
4 Zvezdniy Pes Flint CM Dog 17.21

[Infinity Blade]

I found a paper measuring swimming speed in sperm whales. The fastest recorded speed out of this sample was 9.6 m/s.

ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4231084

[Exalt]

This question may sound pretty foolish, but why are carnivores unable to produce/ why haven't they produced body plans that can keep pace with ungulates such as deer, horses, etc?

[Supercommunist]

Basilisk lizard snatching an iguanna.

www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/comments/jooaoh/plumed_basilisk_hunts_and_eats_hatchling_green/

Iguanna chases a smaller iguanna.

[Supercommunist]

Aug 20, 2023 2:54:15 GMT 5 Exalt said:

This question may sound pretty foolish, but why are carnivores unable to produce/ why haven't they produced body plans that can keep pace with ungulates such as deer, horses, etc?

They have. Cats are able to beat them out in a short bursts of speed. Wolves and hyenas can keep pace and outlast them. African wild dogs can run 40 miles per hour and probably can outlast prey if needed.

[Exalt]

Yeah, I saw someone post on other thread after that that Lions have been able to outspeed zebras.

I guess if the theory that the American Cheetah is what made the Pronghorn so fast holds up, it might have started as a case.

I had zero idea that African wild dogs were so fast, I swear, nobody ever talks about them.

[Supercommunist]

More stuff on human speed.

I find it kind of interesting how athletes that aren't solely dedicated to sprinting struggle to break the 20 mph barrier. Mo Farah, one of the greatest long distance runners ever didn't even reach 19 mph in the first video.

[Supercommunist]

Polar beer catches a reindeer.

www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/comments/1ayqam3/polar_bear_runs_down_reindeer/

[Supercommunist]

I do find it kind of amusing how it would be virtually impossible for something like a tyrannosaurus or an elephant to catch a healthy horse but orcas can catch dolphins and seals.

www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/comments/1az3ypa/orcas_on_a_dolphin_hunt/

Guess cavitation really hampers the, too fast to be caught strategy.

[Supercommunist]

[Supercommunist]

Roadrunner in action.