Australian brown huntsman spider may be fastest on Earth, study suggests
8 reported2 unconfirmed
A single-source report from The Guardian indicates that the brown huntsman spider (Heteropoda jugulans), found along Australia’s east coast, may be the fastest spider on the planet. Scientists in the UK and Germany analyzed more than 250 spider species and clocked the brown huntsman at a peak speed of 3.59 meters per second (13 km/h or 8 mph). That speed exceeds the current record-holder, the Moroccan flic-flac spider, which reaches 1.7 m/s. The research has been submitted to a scientific journal. The study included data from research supervised by Dr. Christofer Clemente, an evolutionary biomechanist at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, originally published in 2021. Clemente noted that the brown huntsman’s peak speed was only reached for a fraction of a second, with an average sustained speed closer to 2 m/s. Dr. Jonas Wolff of the University of Greifswald, a lead author, said the study was the broadest comparative analysis of spider running speed ever conducted and that it was not the largest species that ran the fastest.
What’s reported
The brown huntsman spider (Heteropoda jugulans) was clocked at a peak speed of 3.59 m/s (13 km/h or 8 mph).
This speed is faster than the current record-holder, the Moroccan flic-flac spider, which reaches 1.7 m/s.
Scientists collected 162 spider species from London, Greifswald, North America, southern Europe, and Australia, and measured speeds using cameras and gridded paper.
The research has been submitted to a scientific journal.
The brown huntsman lives only along Australia’s east coast and is common in homes in south-east Queensland.
The spider is about the size of a hand, venomous but rarely bites humans, and effects are mild.
The peak speed was reached for only a fraction of a second; average sustained speed was about 2 m/s.
Dr. Jonas Wolff stated the study was the broadest comparative study of running speed in spiders ever conducted.
Open questions
Whether any faster huntsman species exist that have not been tested.
Whether the brown huntsman is definitively the fastest spider, as Dr. Wolff said he would not rule out faster species.
Key figures
Dr. Christofer Clemente, evolutionary biomechanist at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Dr. Jonas Wolff, University of Greifswald, Germany, lead author of the new research
Sources: The Guardian
