The rhinoceros beetle was once thought to be the strongest animal, capable of lifting 850 times its weight. However, the tropical mite Archegozetes longisetosus has an attractive force equal to 1,150 times its weight. The African elephant is the strongest in terms of sheer strength, while the blue whale has the most kinetic energy. Some dinosaurs were stronger than any living animal.
The term “strongest animal” can be misleading, but most often it refers to how much an animal can lift relative to its own weight. The rhinoceros beetle was thought to be the strongest in the world by this standard, capable of lifting 850 times its own weight. This is comparable to a 150-pound (68 kg) human lifting a 67-ton (about 60.78 metric tons) Abrams tank. Some of the largest rhinoceros beetles weigh 4.23 grams (120 oz), making them capable of carrying around 220 kg (100 lbs). This means that a strong rhinoceros beetle would be able to carry a heavy man.
In 2007, Michael Heethoff and Lars Koerner measured the strength of a tropical mite, Archegozetes longisetosus, and found that it has an attractive force equal to 1,150 times its own weight, five times higher than expected for an organism of its size (1 mm , 100 µg ). Since this study was the first to measure microarthropod claw strengths, there are likely many other mites that could compete for the title of strongest. To express this force in human terms, it would be like a 150-pound (68 kg) man lifting an 86-ton (78 metric-ton) tank, or an elephant with a tower of 1,150 elephants on his back.
The strongest animal on earth in terms of sheer strength is probably the African elephant, whose weight can range up to 13 tons (11.79 tons) and whose carrying capacity is at least 5 tons (4.53 tons). Despite this, African elephants are afraid of some small insects, such as bees. When frightened or upset, an African elephant can run at 25 km/h, which gives an idea of its strength.
In general, the strongest animal is the blue whale, weighing more than 209 tons (189.6 tons), with a length of 100 feet (30 m). It can travel up to 30 mph (50 km/h) in short bursts. The kinetic energy of a whale at that speed probably outclasses any other animal by an order of magnitude.
Historically, some of the largest dinosaurs (such as Brachiosaurus or Supersaurus) were stronger than any living animal.
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