Tarantula speed test

[JadeWilliamson]

I've read about a tiger beetle(fastest land animal, in proportion to body size) that covers 171 body lengths per second. If it were able to run at a comparable speed blown up to human size, it would break the sound barrier. Not sure about tarantulas, though.

That's what I always consider when I think of speed. Lengths/time instead of distance/time. I see ants move pretty quick and I like to guess at how many body lengths/second they're going.
I've always heard that roaches were the fastest in proportion to body but I'll look up the tiger beetle for sure!
There are definitely some quick Ts! If the reader hasn't had the opportunity to see a disgruntled Orphnaecus philippinus it's definitely recommended! Tapinaucheneus slings are the fastest, at least in my experience.

The real question is are we considering body lengths/second or legspan/second? This can make or break the discussion I think. Leg span can be double or more what the body length is. Net or gross?

 

[Plissken]

I've read about a tiger beetle(fastest land animal, in proportion to body size) that covers 171 body lengths per second. If it were able to run at a comparable speed blown up to human size, it would break the sound barrier. Not sure about tarantulas, though.

.

Well then by that math my 2" huntsman can cover 54 body lengths in one second, not quite as fast, but it still runs like a bat outa hell!

 

[fa341009]

This is what I was talking about.. Now that you have body lengths / second, you could easily multiply the distance it would travel if it was the size of a F1 car.. They should be alot faster (even if it's just a small sprint), right?

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

This is what I was talking about.. Now that you have body lengths / second, you could easily multiply the distance it would travel if it was the size of a F1 car.. They should be alot faster (even if it's just a small sprint), right?

No, you can't, cause at the size of a car, they'd weigh more and their movements would take more effort and time. It doesn't translate.

 

[fa341009]

No man.. not that realistic.. I just wanted to compare them..

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Tarantula book lungs only allow them to run a certain distance than rest Car wins!

Tarantula at that size would be extremely fast in sprints though if its a Tree-spider. Goliath bird-eater would be slow so heavy like a tank.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

No man.. not that realistic.. I just wanted to compare them..

If it isn't realistic, though, what's the point? I know I said earlier frivolity is needed now and again, but if in the end you're not comparing apples to apples, it's pointless.

 

[prairiepanda]

If it isn't realistic, though, what's the point? I know I said earlier frivolity is needed now and again, but if in the end you're not comparing apples to apples, it's pointless.

It's just like the tiger beetle comparison though; even though they could not exist at that size, let alone run, calculating the relative speeds is just amusing to think about. I don't think anyone has proper speed data for any Ts though.

 

[Plissken]

Calculating a tarantulas speed the way some of you are suggesting would take a lot of measurement and math. "Covering X amount of body lengths" is is a very vague measurement. With the same logic, my 2" huntsman runs 18 body lengths per second, but that could change. What if it was a 3" huntsman, now is it faster or slower? If it covers the same distance, it now moves at 12 body lengths per second. There are a lot of variables to consider when trying to calculate it by hand.

Let modern technology do the work. I say someone should get a radar gun and see what the true numbers are.

 

[Alltheworld601]

I dont know why no one has just used a radar gun to clock different species running through perhaps a long, clear tube. i've wanted to know what genus is the fastest for a while now. My money's on Tapinauchenius and I'd like to know if I'm right.

 

[Marijan2]

I dont know why no one has just used a radar gun to clock different species running through perhaps a long, clear tube. i've wanted to know what genus is the fastest for a while now. My money's on Tapinauchenius and I'd like to know if I'm right.

make that double, although i'd bet on M. robustum right on their tails, they are freakishly fast(first hand experiece)

 

[Plissken]

Just calculated my H. Venatorias theoretical speed by hand. If what I've read is correct, then my huntsman can run at about 24.54 mph.

I can't help but wonder if this is true or not. If it is, then I'm pretty amazed.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

That would make it around 20 times faster than the fastest spider in the world.

 

[Plissken]

That would make it around 20 times faster than the fastest spider in the world.

My math was wrong...

The huntsman can run around 2.045mph, the fastest spider (Tegenaria duellica) can run 1.179mph. But I'm not saying that is true, I'm just going off what I've read and calculated by hand.

There are much more sophisticated ways of measuring this nowadays since these measurements were recorded long ago.

 

[845BigRed]

Speed test would be pretty easy to check. Take two known points inside of your tank, wait for your T to randomly be in one of them and then drop a mealworm or something that won't really run on the other point and then time the amount of time it takes your T to cross said distance. Then you have a rough speed test for it.