Researchers believe they’ve found the world’s fastest ant — living in the Sahara desert.
The Saharan silver ant can travel up to 108 times its body length in one second, according to Fox News. For reference, that speed would bring a human up to nearly 400 mph.
This incredible insect was studied in Tunisia, where the desert sands can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, Fox reported. But researchers believe the heat might contribute to their speed.
“To withstand the desert environment, one needs to be fast (to not fall) victim themselves to the heat, and on the other side, being able to find enough food for the colony to survive,” biologist Sarah Pfeffer, one of the scientists behind the study, told National Geographic.
Researchers calculated the speed of the ants by using aluminum channels to funnel the insects into their nests, National Geographic reported. This allowed them to more easily film them with high-speed cameras and then use the videos to make their calculations.
By examining the videos, the scientists discovered that the ants were moving their legs at nearly 50 strides per second, according to National Geographic.
This is astonishing when compared to humans. For example, Usain Bolt (considered by many to be the fastest human alive) takes four strides per second, according to Fox.
The legs of the Saharan silver ant are shorter than other ants closely related to them, which scientists believe also gives them an advantage, though it may seem counterintuitive.
“With their short legs ... they can better synchronize the three legs they have on the ground at any given time,” Harald Wolf, another researcher involved in the study, told CNN. “So, they can make very brief powerful impacts on the sand.”
Scientists believe this discovery could impact a surprising field: robotics.
“Insect research rather classically has provided some ideas for walking robots — how they might be used for coordinating their legs,” Wolf told CNN.
Walking robots still move too slowly to make it “immediately relevant,” according to Wolf, but as they get faster, the study of insect movement could help improve coordination.
The Saharan silver ant is the world’s third-fastest creature, according to Fox News. Ahead of it comes the Australian tiger beetle, which moves at 171 times its body length per second, and the California coastal mite, which can move at 377 times its body length per second.