Bigger doesn’t always mean faster

Larger animals with longer legs aren’t always the fastest when sprinting, but then neither are smaller animals.

Researchers studied the muscles and strides of different-sized monitor lizards over a 45-foot (roughly 14-metre) track, finding mid-sized lizards were the fastest.

Above a certain size the lizards’ bones and muscles were less effective in sprinting, forcing the lizards to change their running style to support the larger mass.