AnimalsTop speed
Fastest mammal
160 km/h
99.4 mph
- Record holder
- Mexican free-tailed bat
✓ Value cross-checked in a second source
This level flight speed has been claimed for this bat. On land, the fastest animal is the cheetah, at 93 to 104 km/h.
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What to remember
No mammal goes faster than the Mexican free-tailed bat: 160 km/h (99 mph), clocked in level flight. It has even been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal, with no dive to help it along.
This medium-sized bat lives across North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to the membrane between its hind legs, hence the name. It also flies higher than any other bat, at around 3,300 m.
It is one of the most abundant mammals in North America, yet it gathers in huge numbers at relatively few roosts. Up to 1.5 million bats live under just one bridge in Austin. In 1995 the Texas Legislature named it the state's "Official Flying Mammal".
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “Fastest animals” (revision used 1378122461). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Photo licensed under Public domain (Wikimedia Commons).
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