The Need for Speed Trivia Quiz

Answer: peregrine falcon

Shown in flight in the cover photo, the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is somewhat on the small side, being about the same size as a crow. However, it packs a punch in its relatively small frame, earning the distinction of fastest living organism with its blazingly fast hunting stoop. Videos of the bird swooping from dizzy heights at a top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph) are nothing short of astonishing. Just to put things into perspective, the relative speed of a 58-cm (23-in) peregrine falcon when diving would clock in at 186 body lengths per second - the equivalent of a human running at 170 m/s (560 ft/s). There is a claim, dating from 2005, of a peregrine falcon named Frightful reaching a top speed of 389 km/h (242 mph). Unlike other claims of hard-to-believe animal speed records, this one may well be true, as it was recorded by Ken Franklin, a retired pilot and master falconer(and owner of the bird in question) with the help of professional equipment.

The peregrine falcon is the most widespread of all birds of prey, as it occurs in most parts of the world - with the sole exception of very high mountains, tropical rainforests and arctic regions. It is often found in urban environments, where one of its main prey species - the common pigeon, or rock dove (also a very fast bird) - is readily available, and tall buildings provide plenty of nesting sites.

Answer: perentie

Compared to other vertebrates, reptiles are not particularly fast, in spite of their streamlined bodies. However, a few reptile species can reach respectable speeds on land, and one species - the very large leatherback sea turtle - when swimming. The fastest-recorded land reptile, the perentie (Varanus giganteus), is one of the largest members of the family Varanidae, the monitor lizards. With its lean, elongated body - up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in length - this lizard can run as fast as 40 km/h (25 mph), and keep it up for relatively long distances - a very useful skill when hunting or fleeing from would-be attackers. Sometimes it will also run on its hind legs, as some species of lizards are able to do. The perentie owes its speed and endurance to the ability to pump air into its lungs while running by expanding the side of its neck.

The perentie is Australia's largest living species of lizard. It dwells in the country's extensive desert and semi-desert areas, where it is rarely encountered by humans. However, it is regarded as an important animal by many Aboriginal peoples - both for cultural and religious reasons and for its value as food. In Australia, monitor lizards are referred to as goannas.

Answer: golden eagle

Almost twice as large, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) may occasionally come close to matching the peregrine falcon's astonishing speed when diving after prey. Indeed, a golden eagle's hunting stoop can be as fast as 322 km/h (200 mph). This majestic bird, whose wingspan can easily exceed 2 m (6.5 ft), is also remarkable for its fast gliding speed, which can reach 190 km/h (120 mph). Not surprisingly, the golden eagle is also highly prized in falconry, in spite of its size - which makes it less easily manageable than smaller raptors such as the peregrine or the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), another of the animal kingdom's speed demons.

Native to the Northern Hemisphere, the golden eagle occurs in various habitats, though with a preference for mountainous regions; there are six recognized subspecies. This iconic bird, a symbol of power and royalty in many cultures, owes its name to the golden-brown shade of the plumage on its nape.

Answer: ostrich

Ratites are a group of birds that are unable to fly due to their lack of a keel - the extension of the breastbone that provides an anchor for the wing muscles. However, albeit flightless, these birds are not without means of defending themselves from predators. With the exception of the short-legged kiwis of New Zealand, ratites have long, powerful legs that allow them to run very fast. Not surprisingly, the largest ratite (and largest living bird), the common ostrich (Struthio camelus) is also the fastest bird on land, and the fastest bipedal animal. It can reach a running speed of 61 km/h (38 mph), and maintain a steady speed of 50 km/h (31 mph): some sources report speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph), though such measurements are not considered reliable.

Four subspecies of the common ostrich are recognized, one of which - the Arabian ostrich - is extinct. The Somali, or blue-necked ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) is regarded as a separate species. Both species of this huge bird are found north and south of the equatorial forest zone of the African continent.

Answer: black marlin

Measuring the swimming speed of fish is tricky, and many of the astonishing records found around the Internet are very likely to be exaggerated. This is not to say that some fish species cannot reach remarkable speeds. All the fastest fish species are bony fish (clade Osteichthyes), as a skeleton made of bone offers more points for the attachment of powerful swimming muscles. The three fastest fishes all belong to the superfamily Xiphioidae, the billfish. The black marlin (Istiompax indica) is often cited as the fastest of all fish, reportedly able to reach a maximum speed of 129 km/h (80 mph). Even if this staggering figure is inflated, the black marlin is undoubtedly a powerful creature and a very fast swimmer. Indeed, it is also a great favourite of recreational anglers, as are its two closest contenders in terms of speed, the sailfish (Istiophorus sp.) and the swordfish (Xiphias gladius).

The largest marlin species, the black marlin inhabits the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It can grow to a length of 5 m (16 ft), and weigh over 800 kg (1,764 lb). Its close relative, the Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), made famous by Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novella "The Old Man and the Sea", is only slightly smaller.

Answer: Mexican free-tailed bat

For a long time it was believed that birds held the animal record for fastest horizontal speed. However, according to a study conducted in 2016 with the help of an aircraft tracking device, the fastest animal in horizontal flight is a mammal, the Mexican (or Brazilian) free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). The study claims that this medium-sized member of the order Chiroptera is able to reach a ground speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) - well above the speed recorded by the common swift, the fastest bird in horizontal flight. However, as is often the case, the results of this study have been disputed because of the possible effect of strong wind conditions on this amazing bout of speed. The Mexican free-tailed bat is also a high flyer, often flying at altitudes around 3,300 m (10,800 ft).

The Mexican free-tailed bat is a native of the Americas, ranging from the southern half of the US to much of South America, with the exception of the vast Amazon region. Its common name is due to its long tail not being attached its uropatagium (the membranous body stretching between a bat's hind limbs). Found in huge colonies in the southern US, this insectivorous bat is the official flying mammal of the states of Texas and Oklahoma.

Answer: cheetah

The only living member of its genus, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an amazing creature built for speed. Compared to other large felines, especially those in the genus Panthera, it has a much slimmer body - similar to that of a sighthound - with long, thin legs and a small, round head. The cheetah also has semi-retractable rather than fully retractable claws - an adaptation that helps the animal gain traction on the ground when running. This cat's internal anatomy is also adapted for chases at top speed, with large nasal passages, a fast heart rate and long, flexible spine.
The cheetah is a sprinter, not a long-distance runner: capable of accelerating from 0 to 97 km/h (60 mph) in under three seconds, it is not equally able to sustain those enormous speeds for long. However, these astonishing burst of speed will usually be enough for a cheetah to catch its prey - usually small or medium-sized ungulates that, even if very fast, cannot compete with it.

There are four living subspecies of cheetah, three of them occurring in Africa and one - the only surviving population in Asia - in central Iran. The largest population of these beautiful animals is currently found in East and Southern Africa, in particular Namibia.

Answer: shortfin mako shark

Like all sharks, the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) is a member of the class Chondrichtyes, the cartilaginous fishes, whose skeleton is composed of cartilage rather than bone. Growing to a length of up to 4 m (13 ft), though usually somewhat smaller, the shortfin mako shark has a nearly cylindrical body with a vertically elongated tail and a pointed snout (the meaning of the specific name "oxyrinchus"). It is one of the few endothermic (warm-blooded) shark species, which may account for its great swimming speed - an average of 50 km/h (31 mph), with bursts that can reach up to 72 km/h (45 mph). Not surprisingly, this shark is a prized big-game fishing species, though a potentially dangerous one, as mako sharks caught on a fishing line have been known to attack and injure their captors.

The shortfin mako shark is found in temperate and tropical seas, usually far from land; it can travel long distances to mate or find prey. Its bite force has been measured as one of the strongest (if not the strongest) of all sharks. The mako's common name comes from the Maōri language of New Zealand, and means "shark tooth".

Answer: pronghorn

If the cheetah can be compared to a sprinter, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) has the stamina of a long-distance runner, as it is able to sustain a speed of 56 km/h (35 mph) for 6.5 km (4 mi), and run up to 88.5 km/h (55 mph) for 800 m (0.5 mi). This ability is due to a number of anatomical adaptations - such as larger-than-normal windpipe, lungs and heart, and hooves with cushioned toes that absorb the shock of running over rough terrain when eluding its many predators - which the pronghorn often does quite successfully. There have been claims of pronghorn being able to reach a top speed of 97 km/h (60 mph), though only for short periods of time and on dry, flat terrain. Its closest competitor, the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) of southern Africa, has been clocked at a top speed of 88 km/h (55 mph).

Though sometimes referred to as the American antelope, the pronghorn is only distantly related to the true antelopes of Asia and Africa: in fact, its closest relatives are the giraffe and the okapi. Its common name stems from the distinctive shape of its horns, which have a forward-pointing tine. Pronghorn are found in the interior of western and central North America, at relatively high elevations. Threatened with extinction at the turn of the 20th century, their numbers have rebounded thanks to hunting restrictions and protection of their habitat.

Answer: common swift

Various sources mention the white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) as the fastest bird in level flight, reputed to achieve a top speed of 169 km/h (105 mph). However, this record has been largely discredited because the methods employed to measure the bird's speed have never been verified. Therefore, the official crown of fastest bird goes to another bird of the family Apodidae, the common swift (Apus apus), which in 2010 was reliably measured as reaching a speed of 111.6 km/h (69.3 mph) in level flight. This bird has short legs and a forked tail; its narrow, sickle-shaped wings are longer than its body.

Like all swifts, the common swift is a migratory bird that spends most of its time in the air, feeding on insects. It breeds in Eurasia, while it winters in equatorial and sub-equatorial Africa. Its flying prowess definitely contributes to its ability to cover enormous distances in the space of a single year.

The Guinness Book of Records reports a speed of 127 km/h (78.9 mph) recorded by a satellite-tagged grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) in 2003. However, the bird was flying in an Antarctic storm - meaning that such speed was mostly attributable to tailwinds rather than being self-powered as in the case of the common swift.