以每秒体长来算，谁是世界上跑的最快的动物？

When you think of fast animals, it's probably something like cheetahs, or greyhounds. But when measuring in body lengths per second, the arthropod world is unmatched. And now we have a new record-holder - the fastest speed ever measured in an ant.

当你想到跑得快的动物时，你可能会想到猎豹或灰狗之类的动物。但以每秒体长来衡量的话，节肢动物可谓是当仁不让。现在我们有了一个新的记录保持者——有史以来最快的蚂蚁。

The winner is the Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina), and the speed is 855 millimetres (33.66 inches) per second.

获胜者是撒哈拉银蚁(Cataghisis bombycina)，速度为每秒855毫米(33.66英寸)。

That may not sound like much to you, but that's 108 times the insect's body length per second. Even the cheetah can only manage 16 body lengths per second. Usain Bolt's top speed is 6.2; if he could travel at Saharan silver ant speeds, his top running speed would be around 800 kilometres per hour.

这听起来可能不算什么，但这是这只昆虫每秒身长的108倍。即使是猎豹也只能控制每秒16个身长。尤塞恩·博尔特的最高速度是6.2;如果他能以撒哈拉银蚁的速度旅行，他的最高跑步速度将在每小时800公里左右。

For running speed (flying speeds get even more intense), this puts the ant third, behind the Californian coastal mite (Paratarsotomus macropalpis) at 322 body lengths per second, and the Australian tiger beetle (Cicindela eburneola) at 170 body lengths per second.

就奔跑速度而言(飞行速度的世界竞争会变得更加激烈)，蚂蚁排在第三位，仅次于加利福尼亚海岸螨(巨形翼手螨)每秒322个体长，澳大利亚虎甲虫(学名为Cicindela eburneola)每秒170个体长。

These tiny ants are amazing. In the Sahara desert, where most creatures avoid going out in the middle of the day to avoid blistering temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius, the Saharan silver ant has evolved a number of adaptations to do just that.

这些小蚂蚁真了不起。在撒哈拉沙漠，大多数生物为了躲避超过50摄氏度的高温而避免在中午外出，撒哈拉银蚁却已经进化出了相应的适应能力。

They have longer legs than other ants, to keep their bodies farther from the scorching sand. Their bodies produce heat shock proteins not in response to heat, but before even leaving the nest, for maximum heat resistance.

它们的腿比其他蚂蚁长，以便它们的身体远离灼热的沙子。它们的身体产生热休克蛋白，而不是对热量的反应，这样在离开巢穴之前，就可以达到最大的耐热性。