--- title: World's Fastest Land Animal Is Paratarsotomus Macropalpis Mite description: Researchers used film to determine the world's fastest land animal: a mite no larger than a sesame seed canonical: https://time.com/82120/and-the-worlds-new-fastest-animal-is/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-30T06:45:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:15.072Z article:section: Science og:title: World's Fastest Land Animal Is Paratarsotomus Macropalpis Mite og:description: Researchers used film to determine the world's fastest land animal: a mite no larger than a sesame seed og:url: https://time.com/82120/and-the-worlds-new-fastest-animal-is/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ab09fae994c7cb4/69868d16cd6848e1a9094651/mite_0430.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 360 og:image:height: 203 og:image:alt: mite_0430 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: World's Fastest Land Animal Is Paratarsotomus Macropalpis Mite twitter:description: Researchers used film to determine the world's fastest land animal: a mite no larger than a sesame seed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ab09fae994c7cb4/69868d16cd6848e1a9094651/mite_0430.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # And the World's New Fastest Land Animal Is... > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Apr 30, 2014 6:45 AM UTC  youtube by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Apr 30, 2014 6:45 AM UTC A tiny [mite](http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/04/29/43862/tiny-mite-beats-out-cheetah-as-world-s-fastest-lan/) no larger than a sesame seed holds the record as the fastest land animal in the world, according to new research, when measured in proportion to its size. While the cheetah is commonly thought of as one of the speediest creatures in the animal kingdom, and moves at 16 body lengths per second, the _Paratarsotomus macropalpis_ trounces the big cat with a whopping 322 body lengths per second, according to a study by Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. This is almost twice as quick as what was previously believed to be the fastest animal, the Australian Tiger Beetle, which moves at 171 body lengths per second. Because of the mite’s minuscule proportions and inordinately fast pace, the research team was unable to use traditional means of measuring its velocity. “We can’t actually chase after a mite because they move much too quickly for that,” said Jonathan Wright, lead researcher of the study. “We’re actually filming them running on a concrete driveway.” After gathering the footage, the researchers then replayed the film to find that the mite’s speed exceeded their expectations and that it was also able to quickly switch its direction. The findings were presented at the Experimental Biology 2014 [meeting](http://experimentalbiology.org/2014/Home.aspx) in San Diego on Sunday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/82120/and-the-worlds-new-fastest-animal-is/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/82120/and-the-worlds-new-fastest-animal-is/"},"headline":"And the World's New Fastest Land Animal Is...","datePublished":"2014-04-30T06:45:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:15.072Z","description":"Researchers have used film to determine that the world's fastest land animal is not a cheetah but a mite no larger than a sesame seed. 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