# Tarantula top speed?



## abarth (Oct 11, 2007)

Has it ever been measured what top-speed some of the more fast species can reach?


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## Kmatzy1228 (Oct 11, 2007)

*hmm*

I doubt it but you never know.  I doubt spiders are long distance speedsters.  I think they are usable for quick bursts for catching prey.....


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## ShadowBlade (Oct 11, 2007)

Nope, but I imagine the Taps would be top of the list. They jump off of stuff faster then Jet Li on the wrong train.

-Sean


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## Kmatzy1228 (Oct 11, 2007)

Probably so


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## Nerri1029 (Oct 11, 2007)

ShadowBlade said:


> Nope, but I imagine the Taps would be top of the list. They jump off of stuff faster then Jet Li on the wrong train.
> 
> -Sean


I have a _Stromatopelma calceatum_ and she "teleports" there's no other term that applies to the speed at which she moves about when she needs to.


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## abarth (Oct 11, 2007)

Nerri1029 said:


> I have a _Stromatopelma calceatum_ and she "teleports" there's no other term that applies to the speed at which she moves about when she needs to.



I know, that's why I think it would be interresting to maybe see some actual numbers...


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## Moltar (Oct 11, 2007)

I believe that in the case of some species such as E. murinus, H. lividum, the infamous OBT and most poecilotheria it would be 186,000 miles per second, that being the speed of light.


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## cacoseraph (Oct 11, 2007)

i would expect the actual top speed they reach to be something like 7-10mph


it isn't exactly the speed that is the problem... it is their inhuman quickness and reactions.  i expect they accelerate with a decent number of gravities

Reactions: Like 1


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## Moltar (Oct 11, 2007)

*My cracker jack math says...*

I've seen t's cover 6" in probably 1/8 second which is 4 feet per second. That's less than 4 mph. When your finger is 6" away from the burrow entrance that 4mph IS like light speed.

When you convert that to body lengths per second... Let's say 8 body lengths per second would be like a 6' man running at 33mph.


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## cacoseraph (Oct 11, 2007)

etown_411 said:


> I've seen t's cover 6" in probably 1/8 second which is 4 feet per second. That's less than 4 mph. When your finger is 6" away from the burrow entrance that 4mph IS like light speed.
> 
> When you convert that to body lengths per second... Let's say 8 body lengths per second would be like a 6' man running at 33mph.


i'd say that is not a bad ballpark figure at all!


the fastest land crawler bug i have read about is a Scutigeromorpha centipede (the kind with increasingly LONG legs and a locked straight body, both top speed adaptations) can do 22inches per second (55cm/s!) which is unbelievably fast. i mean think about a bug that can run from head to foot on me (1.9m tall) in like... 3.5seconds!

Reactions: Informative 1


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## SchecterManC1FR (Oct 11, 2007)

etown_411 said:


> I've seen t's cover 6" in probably 1/8 second which is 4 feet per second. That's less than 4 mph. When your finger is 6" away from the burrow entrance that 4mph IS like light speed.
> 
> When you convert that to body lengths per second... Let's say 8 body lengths per second would be like a 6' man running at 33mph.


Nicely done. :worship:


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## Merfolk (Oct 11, 2007)

That makes less than 2 km/h

However, Solifugids have been measured at 16 km/h.


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## dtknow (Oct 11, 2007)

A book I have which has information on animal speeds puts large spiders at about 5 mph.

The explosiveness of their speed is what is impressive. I wonder how long it takes for them to reach top speed...almost certainly less than 1/10th of a second.


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## thedude (Oct 11, 2007)

Merfolk said:


> That makes less than 2 km/h
> 
> However, Solifugids have been measured at 16 km/h.


i can back that up ... have you guys ever tried running after one threw a parking lot trying to catch it to see what the hell it was moving that fast.. 
 i have


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## thedude (Oct 11, 2007)

dtknow said:


> A book I have which has information on animal speeds puts large spiders at about 5 mph.
> 
> The explosiveness of their speed is what is impressive. I wonder how long it takes for them to reach top speed...almost certainly less than 1/10th of a second.


dude you dont know the half of it... have you ever turned a light on when an h. lividium is wandering it's cage?? it zooms in it's hole quicker than you can blink your eyes same thing with a p.murinus


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## dtknow (Oct 12, 2007)

LOL all my fast T's are babies but I've seen stuff already. When a 3 inch P. cambridgei jumps out of its vial, lands several inches away and takes off across the desk you know you are in for it!


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## omni (Oct 12, 2007)

My obt slings are too fast, they are at the opening of their cups as soon as I crack it open the tiniest bit... My female E. camp. is the slowest thing ever: she takes all day to go from one side of a 10gal. to the other and won't chase a roach or cricket down, always waits for it to come to her.


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## Drachenjager (Oct 13, 2007)

etown_411 said:


> I believe that in the case of some species such as E. murinus, H. lividum, the infamous OBT and most poecilotheria it would be 186,000 miles per second, that being the speed of light.


in a vacuum ...you have to say in a vacuum ...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chloe101321 (May 30, 2022)

LIghtspeed I believe. Once the little buggers are out you gotta race them while playing whack a mole with an oversized cup so you dont accidently get a leg.


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## Arachnophobphile (May 30, 2022)

Well my T. violaceus is now 1 to 1 1/4 inches and it moves at warp 100.

Literally, the human eye cannot capture the full movement process. This is why teleporting best describes the movement.

Rehousing it will be fun when the time comes but hopefully easier than my 5 inch T. vagan's rehouse today, (think some urticating setae worked it's way through my shirt as I'm itching and have a rash, arghhh).

The one tarantula I absolutely hate rehousing is my vagans, it is psycho. Only rehoused it because I don't like the substrate I used over a year ago.


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