Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
Not every animal in this world is determined by speed. Some, on the contrary, live in a very slow rhythm, and do not seem to worry about it at all. Let's try to look at the other side of the coin and get to know those who are in serene peace and are never in a hurry.
top 13 slowest creatures on the planet
| Nomination | a place | name | rating |
| top 13 slowest creatures on the planet | 13 | Tasmanian devil | 3.8 |
| 12 | Snake | 3.9 | |
| 11 | American woodcock | 4.0 | |
| 10 | Virgin opossum | 4.1 | |
| 9 | Manatee | 4.2 | |
| 8 | Mole | 4.3 | |
| 7 | Greenland polar shark | 4.4 | |
| 6 | Arizona Gila monster | 4.5 | |
| 5 | Giant turtle | 4.6 | |
| 4 | Three-toed sloth | 4.7 | |
| 3 | Starfish | 4.8 | |
| 2 | Grape snail | 4.9 | |
| 1 | Sea Horse | 5.0 |
Tasmanian devil
Rating: 3.8
The marsupial devil is a rather small, unfriendly and slow predatory animal from the Marsupial family that lives on the island of Tasmania, although 400 years ago it could be found in the vast Australian expanses. Clumsy, with a disproportionately large mouth, this dog-like predator, due to its aggressive behavior and repulsive smell, discourages other predatory animals from the desire to enter into a fight with it.
But not only aggression is a powerful weapon of the marsupial devil. The skull of this animal is very massive and is complemented by an incredibly strong jaw, which allows it to bite the bones of its prey. The force of its bite in relation to body weight is considered the greatest in the world (among mammals). The animal is distinguished by its unhurried movement and can rarely be seen running like a doe. Perhaps the point is that the Tasmanian devil does not have to hunt, because he is a scavenger.
Speed - 13 km / h
Snake
Rating: 3.9
Anyone who has seen a snake at least once in their life could swear that this reptile moves very quickly on the ground. In fact, this is not entirely true. Yes, the snake's body really wriggles very quickly, but at the same time the distance that it is able to overcome in a certain period of time is not so great. Its average speed is comparable to the speed of a briskly walking person.
But not all types of snakes are so slow: there are those among them who prefer speed along with a deadly reaction. We are talking about a deadly species of snakes – the Black Mamba. This reptile is distinguished by an incredibly large 'supply' of poison in one bite (thereby leaving no chance for more than 95% of those who met it). And even more dangerous this snake is made by a higher speed than that of its counterparts – about 15 km / h. It is noteworthy that all types of snakes, without exception, are carnivorous and often target objects as a victim, which greatly exceeds their own size.
Speed - 10-12 km / h
American woodcock
Rating: 4.0
Surprisingly, but a bird managed to get into the ranking of the slowest animals in the world. Perhaps it would be too easy to call her a typical representative of birds. This is a truly amazing animal. The fact is that the American woodcock does not like to fly and prefers to use its wings only during the mating season.
It would seem illogical: after all, a bird needs wings to search for food, but not this one. The little hermit prefers a quiet, nocturnal lifestyle and spends it in a leisurely search for his favorite food – earthworms. And atypically large for its structure eyes and an elongated beak make the process of 'hunting' easy and incredibly effective.
The bird has a very variegated plumage, which nevertheless provides it with an ideal camouflage in the bush and underbrush. The peculiarity of the structure and the size of the eyes make the American woodcock a bird with one of the largest fields of view in the world: 3600 in the horizontal plane and 1800 in the vertical plane.
Speed - 8 km / h
Virgin opossum
Rating: 4.1
This rat-like animal does not require high speed for a safe and comfortable existence. In case of danger, the inhabitant of North America would rather pretend to be dead than flee. And this is not at all surprising: when falling to the ground in the 'pose' of a dead animal, the possum releases such a disgusting smell with its anal glands that there are still no people willing to try it 'by the tooth'.
The Virginia possum is distinguished by a rather powerful physique, and in size it can be compared with a large domestic cat. The marsupial mammal prefers poorly greened, wet areas, but readily adapts to the neighborhood with humans (including in an urban environment). Compared to other mammals, the Virginia possum looks very awkward and slow, moving rather slowly. By the way, despite the ability to pretend to be dead, this beast can also show aggressive behavior, which introduces the enemy into a stupor.
Speed - 7 km / h
Manatee
Rating: 4.2
This sluggish marine creature of impressive size has long been considered a mermaid (yes, right up to the 20th century). Now he is known under another equally vivid epithet – 'sea cow'. And this is no coincidence, because manatees are big gluttons: one individual needs to eat about 30-50 kg of food per day. In general, the process of finding and absorbing the found food takes about 7 hours daily for a manatee.
The animal is distinguished by its considerable weight (some individuals can reach 1.8 tons) and great sensitivity to cold, therefore they quite often live near thermal power plants, located, as a rule, in large cities. Despite significant subcutaneous fat (its thickness is about 5 cm), manatees react to temperature changes in water: there have been cases of death of these animals in water, the temperature of which was about +18 0С. Manatee is very slow compared to most marine life and can give a head start in sluggishness of movement of many land animals.
Speed - 5-8 km / h
Mole
Rating: 4.3
The mole is quite small, but stocky and boasts powerful front legs with well-sharpened claws. Since this insectivorous animal spends most of its life underground, its organs of vision are practically undeveloped. But the mole has an excellent sense of touch and smell. This animal can be safely called an experienced inhabitant of the 'subway': due to the peculiarities of the structure of its wool (it grows straight, so it lies on the skin in any direction), the mole easily moves in the tunnels dug by it.
The 'underground dweller' is distinguished by a considerable appetite – every day he eats a portion of food equal to his own weight. Considered a loner. The mole is a useful animal because it loosens the soil, stimulating its moisture and air circulation. But, despite its benefits, it can also cause harm by damaging the roots of horticultural crops.
Speed - 5-7 km / h
Greenland polar shark
Rating: 4.4
This massive carnivorous animal prefers the cold waters of the Arctic and navigates well in the dark. With a weight of 500 kg and an average length of 5 m, a polar shark could develop a decent speed for its species, but it does not. There is a simple explanation for this – to conserve energy and heat, body movements should be as smooth and slow as possible. This is what the Greenland polar shark does with great success: it takes about 6 seconds (!) To move its tail alone.
It is considered the most cold-loving, slow and long-living shark among all existing (average life expectancy – 270 years). The main habitat of these super-predatory individuals is the North Atlantic Ocean. The Greenland Arctic shark is a gourmet: stingrays, capelin, cod, flounder and even small sharks are among its preferences. Sometimes she does not disdain carrion (sometimes the remains of polar bears were found in the stomachs of caught sharks). In winter they prefer to feed on seals. For a long time, this fact caused bewilderment among scientists, since seals are 2 times faster than 'lazy' sharks. Everything was explained very simply: the predator attacks sleeping individuals.
Speed - 1.5 km / h
Arizona Gila monster
Rating: 4.5
This humble rodent lover has dispelled the existing assumption that snakes are the most venomous reptiles on the planet. More like a small dragon than a lizard, the Arizona gila monster gets its name from the venom that often drips down its teeth. They say that one bite of this reptile is enough to feel hellish pain, and a few drops of its poison is enough to kill a large dog.
The Arizona gila monster has one bad habit: to steal other people's eggs, and not for noble purposes – he eats them. The mass of food that an adult can absorb is about 1/3 of its weight (the average weight of a gila monster is 2 kg). An interesting fact: with good nutrition, the gila moth gradually accumulates fat and not just anywhere, but in the tail. But it is difficult to call this reptile a glutton, because he consumes food no more than 10 times a year. Although the dwelling is not on the verge of extinction, the population periodically declines due to the destruction of its habitats by humans. Therefore, the animal was listed in the IUCN Red List.
Speed - 1-1.5 km / h
Giant turtle
Rating: 4.6
Turtles are still mistakenly considered slow animals. It is not for nothing that the phrase 'you crawl like a turtle' is used in everyday life. In fact, many of them develop pretty good speed, especially on the water surface. And on land they can give odds to a walking person. But all of the above does not apply to huge land and sea turtles. The peculiarity of their structure does not allow them to develop sufficient speed, so they have to trudge 'like a turtle'.
If you've ever seen a clumsy and incredibly slow reptile with a shell, this is one of the gigantic specimens. Regardless of where such turtles are – in water or on land – their speed rarely exceeds 1 km / h. This is quite natural, given the weight and size of the animal: with a carapace (back shield) length of about 100 cm, the weight of a turtle is about 120 kg.
Speed - 900 m / h
Three-toed sloth
Rating: 4.7
The name of the animal speaks for itself. Indeed, the three-toed sloth is not just a slow, but a lazy animal that prefers to make a minimum of movements with a maximum of rest. This unique beast is so slow that even when the danger threatens it, it usually does not attempt to escape.
Mainly nocturnal lifestyle, immunity to many poisons and the ability to incredibly fast regeneration of damaged tissues save the sloth from injuries and encroachments on the life of the sloth. Most of the time, the sloth prefers to rest on tree branches. And in order to descend, he does not even try to make a jump: he simply lets go of a branch and, having grouped up in a ball, dives to the ground.
It is noteworthy that the sloth is not able to fully move on land on 4 limbs due to the long length of the claws. The typical way for him to move is to pull up the body, catching the front paws on the surface. In fact, he has to crawl on his belly. Unsurprisingly, the sloth cannot boast of a high movement speed.
Speed - 150 m / h
Starfish
Rating: 4.8
One of the most unusual creatures on the planet. Unbelievable, but true: experts believe that sea stars appeared during the Paleozoic era. You can find this sea animal almost anywhere in the world. They prefer solitude and great depths: individual specimens of sea stars have been discovered at a depth of about 8 km. These are real orderlies of the seabed, who thoroughly cleanse it of the remains of living organisms, etc. The size of the body ranges from several centimeters to 1 m.
Unusually, in starfish everything, starting, in fact, with the form of a creature – in the form of a star, and ending with the ability to change your gender. But this animal does not have a brain, which, however, does not prevent it from successfully leading a full life of a predator. The starfish prefers shellfish, sea ducks, etc. in its diet. This invertebrate moves along the seabed incredibly slowly: its speed rarely exceeds 15 cm / min.
Speed - 9 m / h
Grape snail
Rating: 4.9
This terrestrial mollusk is considered one of the slowest animals in the world. And, although the size of the snail is miniature (the length of its shell is about 3-4 cm), it is considered the largest in the Old World. The grape snail is very slow, due to the peculiarity of its structure.
Interesting fact: when moving, the snail secretes mucus, but uses it as a grip only on a vertical surface. When moving horizontally, it uses only its own 'leg' as a driving 'lever', periodically bending its individual sections, which minimizes friction. And yet, this does not add speed to her.
In ancient times, the gastropod mollusk was used as a healthy and wholesome food, and people of any class could afford to eat this product. Today, snails are considered a delicacy and are consumed in some countries (France, Italy, Spain). But in countries such as Germany and Switzerland, it is protected by law, since the shellfish is considered rare.
Speed - 3.6 m / h
Sea Horse
Rating: 5.0
The original fish, resembling a chess piece in shape, is distinguished by a unique structure (there is no stomach and teeth in its body), as well as non-standard sexual relations. The fact is that males are engaged in bearing offspring, and females are fighting for their favor.
The seahorse is definitely the slowest representative of the underwater world. This 'miracle' lives mainly in the tropical zone; it prefers shrimps and crustaceans in food. Unfortunately, the massive catch of this unusual fish over a long period of time put it on the brink of extinction. Their unusual appearance actually doomed them to death: souvenirs are often made from seahorses.
A small fish prefers a sedentary lifestyle: it clings to the plant with its tail and rarely leaves it. If the seahorse has to move, it has no equal in slowness, therefore it is the leader of our rating.
Speed - 1.5 m / h
Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
