The 10 Fastest Animals in the World
儘管人類喜歡把超能力——最聰明、最快、最強壯——賦予動物王國裡的動物，但在實踐中，這些特質很難衡量。但是，在已經完成的測量中，科學家們已經確定，這5種生物是地球上跑得最快的動物的最佳候選。
5.白喉針尾 ---70英裡/小時
Many sources claim that the fastest bird in level flight is the white-throated needletail, sometimes called the spine-tailed swift. But there's no evidence for the methodology behind determining the record, so it's rarely considered valid. So this spot belongs to another swift: One specimen of common swift was observed flying at almost 70 mph.許多資料來源聲稱，在水平飛行中最快的鳥是白喉針尾，有時被稱為尖尾飛禽。但是沒有證據證明確定記錄的方法是正確的，所以它很少被認為是有效的。所以這個地方屬於另一種斯威夫特:一種普通斯威夫特的標本被觀察到以每小時70英裡的速度飛行。
4.灰頭信天翁//大約每小時80英裡
The official Guinness World Record for fastest bird in level flight, however, doesn't go to the common swift. It goes to the gray-headed albatross, specifically one gray-headed albatross that got caught in an Antarctic storm. The paper detailing this record holder explained that "typical air speed of small albatrosses flying with a tail wind is [20±9 miles per hour], that speed being relatively constant with increasing wind force" and noted that the bird seemed to have a 40 to 50 mph tailwind. Audubonsummarized this as "the equivalent of avian steroids."一隻白頭信天翁在飛翔。然而，世界上最快的平飛鳥類的官方金氏世界紀錄並沒有授予普通的飛禽。它屬於白頭信天翁，特別是一頭被南極風暴困住的白頭信天翁。本文詳細紀錄保持者解釋說,「典型的空氣速度的小型信天翁飛行順風(20±9英裡每小時),速度相對恆定,提高風力」並指出鳥似乎具有40到50英裡的推動力。奧杜邦將其總結為「相當於鳥類類固醇」。
3. 馬蠅//大約每小時90英裡(我們認為)
Males of this species chase and catch the females, and together they fall to the ground. To simulate this, the researcher fired a plastic pellet from an air rifle; the male horsefly chased the pellet, reaching speeds of at least 90 mph. Since then, little research has been done on the subject, and the result is noted as being "a noteworthy record" in "the unrefereed literature."一隻馬蠅坐在一塊巖石上。這個物種的雄性會追逐並抓住雌性，然後一起掉到地上。為了模擬這一過程，研究人員從氣步槍中射出一顆塑料子彈;雄馬蠅追逐小球，達到至少90英裡每小時的速度。從那時起，關於這個主題的研究就很少了，結果被稱為「未被引用文獻中的一個值得注意的記錄」。
2.巴西無尾蝙蝠// 100英裡/小時(可能)
According to a 2016 paper, all seven of the Brazilian free-tailed bats studied traveled faster than 55 mph. Five hit almost 70 mph and one flew 100 miles per hour, making it potentially the fastest flying animal in the world. Some scientists that spoke to New Scientistwere skeptical of the record, however, saying that the bats may have had gravity or wind assists, but the authors of the study expressed confidence in their results.根據2016年的一篇論文，所有被研究的7隻巴西自由尾蝠的飛行速度都超過了55英裡每小時。其中5隻達到了70英裡每小時，1隻飛行了100英裡每小時，這使它有可能成為世界上飛行最快的動物。然而，一些接受《新科學家》採訪的科學家對這一記錄持懷疑態度，他們說蝙蝠可能有重力或助風作用，但研究報告的作者對他們的研究結果表示有信心。
1.遊隼//時速200英裡以上
It's often said that the peregrine falcon can fly around 200 mph, which isn't the entire story. In level flight, the peregrine falcon is usually thought to max out at 40 to 60 mph—fast, but not ridiculously so. It reaches its top speed by falling in a specialized hunting dive called a stoop.
For years, there was suspicion of this top speed, and in the 1990s, some researchers pegged the birds at a more reasonable stoop speed of 90 miles per hour. It wasn't until the 2000s that a researcher began skydiving with a peregrine falcon. Together they were diving at speeds well in excess of 200 mph. But because this is a dive, the title of fastest animal on Earth is still open to debate.
一隻遊隼在飛翔。人們常說遊隼能以每小時200英裡的速度飛行，但這並不是全部。在水平飛行中，遊隼通常被認為能以40到60兆每小時的速度飛行，但這並不可笑。它通過一種被稱為「彎腰」的專門的狩獵跳水來達到它的最高速度。
多年來，人們一直懷疑這種最高速度，在20世紀90年代，一些研究人員認為這種鳥的彎腰速度更合理，為每小時90英裡。直到2000年，一位研究人員才開始帶著遊隼跳傘。他們一起以超過200英裡每小時的速度潛水。但由於這是一次潛水，地球上跑得最快的動物的稱號仍有爭議。
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