HideShark list
Speed means different things in different places. The outright record belongs to a bird in a dive; the fastest running animal is the cheetah; the best distance runner is the pronghorn. This list ranks the top speeds and notes which record each animal holds.
389 km/h — the fastest animal, in a dive
In its hunting stoop the peregrine folds its wings and drops on prey faster than a Formula 1 car. Baffles in its nostrils slow the incoming air so it can still breathe.
Full peregrine falcon guide →~240–320 km/h in a dive
The second-fastest animal in a stoop, the golden eagle drops on hares and marmots from a soaring height with wings half-closed.
Full golden eagle guide →~160 km/h — the fastest animal in level flight
The peregrine is faster only in a dive. Tracked leaving a Texas cave by aircraft, free-tailed bats reached ground speeds above 160 km/h in straight, powered flight — quicker than any bird has been shown to fly on the level.
Full mexican free-tailed bat guide →93–114 km/h — the fastest land animal
A flexible spine, semi-retractable claws, and a long counterweight tail let the cheetah accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in about three seconds — but only for around 20 seconds before it overheats.
Full cheetah guide →~110 km/h claimed; ~35 km/h measured
Long called the fastest fish on the strength of a 1920s reel test. Modern camera and tag studies put its burst nearer 35 km/h — still elite — and it folds its huge sail flat to cut drag when it accelerates after sardines.
Full sailfish guide →~90 km/h in a burst
A stiff, scaleless body, a flat slashing bill, and a gland that may lubricate its head make the swordfish one of the fastest fish — and it warms its eyes and brain to hunt fast prey in the cold deep.
Full swordfish guide →~70 km/h — the fastest shark
A tuna-shaped body and warm swimming muscles let the mako run down bonito and tuna and leap six metres clear of the water. Overfishing has since made it Endangered.
Full shortfin mako shark guide →88–98 km/h — and unmatched over distance
The fastest animal in the Americas and the best endurance runner on Earth, able to hold 60 km/h for more than 20 km. It evolved to outrun a cheetah that went extinct 12,000 years ago.
Full pronghorn guide →~80 km/h in a short burst
Lions rely on a cooperative ambush rather than a long chase, so their speed is spent in a few explosive seconds closing the final gap on prey.
Full lion guide →~70 km/h — the fastest animal on two legs
Too heavy to fly, the ostrich is instead the fastest runner of any bird, with a stride up to 5 m and the stamina to hold 50 km/h for half an hour.
Full ostrich guide →~56 km/h — the fastest marine mammal
The largest dolphin is also one of the quickest, using bursts of speed to run down seals, penguins, and other dolphins.
Full orca guide →~40 km/h in an attack burst
Partly warm-blooded muscles let the great white launch an ambush from below fast enough to breach clear of the water off South Africa.
Full great white shark guide →12–19 km/h — the fastest snake
Fast for a legless animal, holding its head and forebody off the ground — but slower than a running person. It uses the speed to reach cover, not to chase.
Full black mamba guide →~60 m/s jaw tips — the fastest strike known, not a running speed
A different kind of speed record. The ant latches its jaws open and snaps them shut in about 0.13 milliseconds at tens of thousands of times gravity, one of the fastest self-powered movements of any animal. Fired against the ground, the same strike catapults the whole ant through the air to escape danger.
Full trap-jaw ant guide →The peregrine falcon. In its hunting dive it has been measured at 389 km/h (242 mph), far faster than any other animal. In level flight it is much slower, around 40–95 km/h.
The cheetah, at up to about 100–114 km/h over short distances. The pronghorn is a little slower at top speed but can sustain a fast pace for vastly longer.
The sailfish is usually cited as the fastest fish at around 110 km/h, though some measurements are disputed. The fastest marine mammal is the orca at about 56 km/h.