Tarantula speed test

fa341009

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Messages
31
Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone ever investigated the speed some tarantula's can make?
I'm talking about: imagine you could enlarge your T to the size of a car, what would it's top speed be and how fast would they be able to accelerate.

It allways seem to me that T's don't have to accellerate and they reach their topspeed instantly :p

If there is anyone here that is good at math and is able to capture the speed / acceleration of a tarantula (or if someone has ever done this before..), that would be sweet. I would like to know what a drag race between a huge T and a formula 1 car would result into..

Thoughts!?
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
745
Just saying, but if the tarantula were enlarged to car-size the length of it's strides would be longer and therefore it would be faster. :p
 

Jacobospider5

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
28
Well as far as I know, the tarantula would not have a lot of stamina due to its primitive book lung respiratory system. It would tire out rather quickly and would not beat a formula 1 car. However, even at their current size we see they are capable of short bursts of speed.
 

freedumbdclxvi

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
1,421
Just saying, but if the tarantula were enlarged to car-size the length of it's strides would be longer and therefore it would be faster. :p
True but the time it would take for its strides would be quite a bit longer, too.
 

Osmo

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
119
Everyone knows the T would win because it would just flip the car over and spin it in its web.
 

Bipolar Spider

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 18, 2013
Messages
46
I would like to know what a drag race between a huge T and a formula 1 car would result into..
Worldwide panic? :laugh:

But really a tarantula the size of a car would have to play to gravity like the rest of us, it would lose, by a lot
 

fa341009

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Messages
31
But they are so friggin fast!

Oke Oke.. reversed.. image a formula 1 car would be as large as a tarantula.. but but but.. the engine would ofc. also be smaller..

and btw, speed may be speed, but a formula 1 car (max speed +- 320km/u) can win a short drag race vs a military jet (max speed +-2400km/u)..
 
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Poec54

Arachnoemperor
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Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,742
Why are we talking about giant tarantulas and race cars? This forum is supposed to be based in reality.
 

Biollantefan54

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Jul 3, 2012
Messages
2,312
Yeah, I will be back. I have to go to one of my reptile forums and ask them which is faster, a leopard gecko, or a French fry. :p
 

Waxen

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 5, 2004
Messages
128
That totally depends on who is eating the fry and the air friction caused by ambient air temperature. Everybody knows that man.
 

PlaidJaguar

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
243
A little frivolity now and then isn't bad.
+1 I find this thread entertaining. :)
And the forum is about loving inverts; so trying to understand them better by comparing them to things we are more familiar with seems like a very legitimate cause to me. Having a bit of fun in the process is just a bonus.
 

SuzukiSwift

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
1,208
I think I understand what the OP means, are you asking if someone could record a tarantula running a short distance, measure the distance covered in the amount of time and convert it to kph right? So if (for example) you record an OBT make a short burst of speed, measure how far it ran and the amount of time registered on the video and convert it to hours, then use the same math to multiply the distance (for example if it covered 10cm in .1 seconds then it would become...getting a calculator lol... 3600 kph) Woah, that cant be right (and this is taking into account if the T could keep going at the same speed indefinitely)
 

3skulls

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 7, 2013
Messages
402
Like when Myth Busters did the Hot Wheels vs the race car.

I think the T would win short burst but the car would win distance.
 

Plissken

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Messages
33
I read that huntsman can run an entire yard in just one second! that's FAST!

And I can contest to that. When I got her, (H. venatoria) I was rehousing and she climbed up my right arm, down my left arm, and climbed into my dogs food dish in the blink of an eye! I was absolutely amazed!

However, once they have a piece of bark to huddle on, they don't move as fast as being in the open.

If you think your P. murinus is fast, you better think twice!
 

SuzukiSwift

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
1,208
I read that huntsman can run an entire yard in just one second! that's FAST!

And I can contest to that. When I got her, (H. venatoria) I was rehousing and she climbed up my right arm, down my left arm, and climbed into my dogs food dish in the blink of an eye! I was absolutely amazed!

However, once they have a piece of bark to huddle on, they don't move as fast as being in the open.

If you think your P. murinus is fast, you better think twice!
There are species much faster than P.murinus for sure! I caught an H.venatoria once (no easy task! lol) and kept it and the thing was fast as hell! Chilobrachys insane also, as well as S.calceatum (just picked one up, flaming heck it can move!)
 

prairiepanda

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Messages
209
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.
 
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