Animals Birds Fish Insects Mammals Reptiles Top 10

The fastest animals – on land, in water and in the air

The fastest animals Top 10

Some time ago, we prepared the largest list of the world’s fastest animals, which we have gradually added to. Today we present the fastest animals according to the environment in which they live. We have divided them into aquatic, terrestrial and aerial animals. Let’s get to know the fastest animals in the world.

The fastest animals in the air

It is probably obvious to everyone that birds rule the skies. The air is their element, so we would be surprised if they were not the fastest fliers. And indeed they are. However, it is worth knowing that the fastest insects beat most birds and the only flying mammal can also fly fast.

No	Animal	Top Speed [km/h]	Top speed [mph]	Group
1	Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)	389	242	bird
2	Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)	320	199	bird
3	Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)	209	130	bird
4	Common Swift (Apus apus)	171	106	bird
5	Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo)	160	100	bird
6	Frigatebird	153	95	bird
7	Rock dove / rock pigeon (Columba livia)	149	92.5	bird
8	Spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis)	142	88	bird
9	Horse fly	140	87	insect
10	Grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma)	127	79	bird
11	Moth Dark sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon)	110	69	insect
12	Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna)	98	61	bird
13	Free-tailed bat	97	60	mammal

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The fastest animals in water

Water is not only the kingdom of fish, it is also home to mammals, reptiles, amphibians and molluscs. However, if you expected fish to be the fastest in the water, you would be right. Interestingly, if you look at the table below, you can see something unusual – the fastest fish, despite the resistance of the water, reach a higher speed in the water than the fastest land animals! Our favorite synonym for speed – the cheetah – would lose the race with…. fish 🙂

No	Animal	Top Speed [km/h]	Top speed [mph]	Group
1	Black marlin (Istiompax indica)	130	81	fish
2	Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)	110	68	fish
3	Sailfish	109	68	fish
4	Swordfish (Xiphias gladius)	97	60	fish
5	Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri)	97	60	fish
6	Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares)	80	50	fish
7	Striped marlin (Kajikia audax)	80	50	fish
8	Shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)	72	45	fish
9	Flying fish	70	44	fish
10	Blue shark (Prionace glauca)	69	43	fish
11	Common dolphin	65	40	mammal
12	Bonefish (Albula vulpes)	64	40	fish
13	Killer whale / orca (Orcinus orca)	56	35	mammal
14	Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)	55	34	mammal
15	Blue whale	48	30	mammal
16	Barracuda	43	27	fish
17	California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)	40	25	mammal
18	Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)	39	24	mammal
19	Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)	35	22	reptile
20	Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua)	35	22	bird

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The fastest animals on land

Although humans are not the fastest runners in the animal kingdom, which is probably obvious to most of us ;), there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to long distance running. None of the animals are able to run continuously for distances as long as the best long-distance runners (about 300 km). As we know, Usain Bolt (the fastest man on earth) has a speed of 44.72 km/h (27.79 mph), but this seems small compared to the fastest animals.

No	Animal	Top Speed [km/h]	Top speed [mph]	Group
1	Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)	120	75	mammal
2	Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis)	100	62	mammal
3	Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii)	94	59	mammal
4	Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)	89	55	mammal
5	Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis)	88	55	mammal
6	Quarter Horse	88	55	mammal
7	Blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)	80	50	mammal
8	Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)	80	50	mammal
9	Serval (Leptailurus serval)	80	50	mammal
10	Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica)	80	50	mammal
11	Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)	80	50	mammal
12	Caracal (Caracal caracal)	80	50	mammal
13	Cougar (Puma concolor)	80	50	mammal
14	Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)	80	50	mammal
15	Hare	80	50	mammal
16	Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)	76	47	mammal
17	Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus)	75	47	mammal
18	Dog Greyhound	74	46	mammal
19	Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus)	72	45	bird
20	Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)	72	45	mammal