When asked who is the fastest creature on the planet, each of us immediately thinks about a cheetah, an ostrich or any other fast animals. But, as it turned out, this is not at all the case. The fastest inhabitant of our planet is a small worm named Spirostomum ambiguum.
Spirostomum ambiguum is a type of unicellular worm that is practically impossible to see with the naked eye. They are only four millimeters long. He lives in the fresh and salt waters of our planet. However, as it turned out, Spirostomum ambiguum is armed with incredible speed.
Scientists have found that even despite its small size, the worm can move unusually fast. In this he is helped by the cilia with which his body is armed. At a certain moment, when Spirostomum ambiguum is about to go somewhere, its body contracts by 60%, and this happens in only 1/200 of a second. Having reduced to its maximum size, it shoots forward, due to which that very incredible speed is formed.
Researchers claim that this worm is capable of accelerating to 724 kilometers per hour. This speed leaves little chance of considering the movement of Spirostomum ambiguum.
Dmitry Kornienko