California Mites (Web Screenshot)
International online special article: According to the British "Daily Mail" reported on April 29, cheetahs are recognized as the fastest animals in the world, but students at the University of California in the United States found that California mites are the fastest animals in the world, and their movement speed is equivalent to that of humans running at a speed of 2100 kilometers per hour.
The paratarsotomus macropalpis are not as large as sesame seeds, but the latest records show that they move 322 times their body length per second. If it grows to the size of a human, the speed of the mite will reach 2092 km. Previously, the title of the world's fastest animal belonged to the Australian tiger beetle, which moved at a speed equivalent to 171 times the distance of the body per second. The cheetah, on the other hand, moves 16 times its body length per second, which is equivalent to 90 kilometers per hour.
This mite lives in southern California and is often found on rocks or sidewalks. Although it was first discovered as early as 1916, little is known about its habits and food sources. California mites are also adept at stopping or changing direction at extreme speeds, and researchers are deepening their research on them for bioengineeration applications.
Samuel Rubin, a physics student at the University of Pulitzer in California, who used his summer vacation to track mites, said the discovery was exciting not only because the mites set a new world record, but also because they broke the limits of biological physical movement and physical limits. Rubin said: "It is very cool to find the fastest animal in the world, and the speed of mites is surprising by human standards. Delving into how they reach this rate may encourage innovative designs, such as applications to robots or bionic devices. ”
Rubin's mentor, Jonathan Wright, specializes in how fast animals move their leg muscles, and he's also interested in mites. But it wasn't until Rubin and the other students measured the speed of the mites in a natural environment that they learned they had discovered a new world record. Theoretically, the smaller the animal, the faster its relative speed and pace frequency, but muscle physiology may limit the speed at which the legs move.
The team was also surprised to find that mites can move rapidly on concrete at 60 degrees Celsius. For most animals, this temperature is close to the lethal temperature. (Willow)