Scientists have named the species of the fastest spider in the world

An international group of arachnologists and biomechanists led by Shreyas Kuchibhotla from Imperial College London has identified the fastest spider on the planet. It turned out to be Heteropoda jugulans, which lives in the tropical forests of Australia. This is reported in an article published on the biology preprint server. bioRxiv.org .

Scientists have identified the world's fastest spider species in a major comparative analysis of the capabilities of 258 species from 64 families. With a mass of 3 g, it accelerated to 3.59 m/s, which is comparable to light jogging. This figure has become an absolute record for the usual method of movement of arachnids.

To record the results, the scientists used treadmills made of paper with a coordinate grid. To make the subjects move, the experts used soft brushes, and in the case of aggressive bird—eaters, compressed air jets.

According to the publication, spiders with relatively long legs ran the fastest. According to the researchers, they took a longer step and covered a longer distance at the same time.

The study showed that the key factor in speed is the structure of the limbs: their length is crucial. Biologists have also found out that speed characteristics depend on the evolutionary path of the species. Thus, spiders that have adapted to active hunting and stalking prey are significantly faster than ambushing predators, even with the same body size.

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On June 17, the press service of the government of St. Helena recognized the oldest land animal, the Jonathan turtle, as an icon of the Guinness Book of Records. According to the publication, the turtle has become a symbol of longevity and is known for observing changes on the island for ten years.