Society for Science & the Public, which publishes Science News, uses cookies to personalize your experience and improve our services. For more information on how we use cookies on our websites, visit our Cookie Policy.
The –est Animals

Brazilian free-tailed bats are the fastest fliers

The new record holders can reach ground speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour

Brazilian free-tailed bats

FLY-BY-NIGHT Brazilian free-tailed bats have bested the world’s fastest birds in a test of flight speed.  

greglasley/iNaturalist.org

By Cassie Martin

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Animals

  1. white-throated sparrow sitting on a branch
    Animals

    A sparrow song remix took over North America with astonishing speed

    By Jack J. Lee
  2. Paradise tree snake
    Life

    Here’s how flying snakes stay aloft

    By Emily Conover
  3. Mallad ducks fishing
    Life

    Fish eggs can hatch after being eaten and pooped out by ducks

    By Carolyn Wilke
  4. bottlenose dolphin carrying a shell
    Animals

    Dolphins can learn from peers how to use shells as tools

    By Jack J. Lee
  5. barn owls
    Animals

    Barn owlets share food with their younger siblings in exchange for grooming

    By Pratik Pawar
  6. Bathochordaeus mcnutti
    Animals

    Larvaceans’ underwater ‘snot palaces’ boast elaborate plumbing

    By Susan Milius
  7. Modigliani’s nose-horned lizard
    Animals

    A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found

    By Dyna Rochmyaningsih
  8. Frederieke Kroon diving
    Life

    Fish poop exposes what eats the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish

    By Jake Buehler

From the Nature Index

Paid Content