Overview
- Researchers compiled the largest cross‑species sprint dataset to date, testing 162 live spider species and adding about 96 published recordings to compare top running speeds.
- A huntsman from Queensland, Heteropoda jugulans, was timed at 3.59 metres per second in standardized arena trials and recorded as the fastest spider by those tests.
- Experimental methods included weighing each specimen, running individuals across A4/A3 grid paper, and prompting movement with a paintbrush or puffs of compressed air while filming the trials.
- After controlling for body size and shared ancestry, the team found that relatively longer legs are the strongest morphological predictor of faster running, with hunting style also linked to performance.
- The study highlights a measurement issue: the Moroccan flic‑flac spider’s 1.7 m/s dune‑rolling record used a different locomotor mode and conditions, so direct comparisons depend on how ‘running’ is defined and standardized tests are applied.