Scientists have discovered the world’s fastest ant which runs at speeds equivalent of 360mph in humans.

The Saharan silver ant – named after where it lives – can put in 50 strides a second, covering a distance of nearly a metre (85.5cm). To put this in perspective Usain Bolt does four strides a second.

The ants scavenge the corpses of other creatures during the hottest part of the day where temperatures can reach 60C.

The length of their strides quadrupled from 4.7mm to 20.8mm as their speed accelerated, according to the paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

The ants also switched from running to galloping, with all six feet of the ground simultaneously and each foot only touching the ground for seven milliseconds at a time.

Insects at risk of extinction Show all 12 1 /12 Insects at risk of extinction Insects at risk of extinction Wasps Wasps are of the order Hymenoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Dragonflies Dragonflies are of the order Odonata, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Bees Bees are of the order Hymenoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Butterflies Butterflies are of the order Lepidoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Ants Ants are of the order Hymenoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Dung Beetles Two dung beetles making an effort to roll a ball through gravel Getty Insects at risk of extinction Caddisflies Caddisflies make up the order Trichoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Stoneflies Stoneflies are of the order plecoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Saw-Flies Saw-Flies are of the order Hymenoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Moths Moths are of the order Lepidoptera, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Damselfly Damselflies are of the order Odonata, one of the most at risk Getty Insects at risk of extinction Mayflies Mayflies are of the order Ephemeroptera, one of the most at risk Getty

“These features may be related to the sand dune habitat. [This technique] could prevent the animal’s feet from sinking too deeply into the soft sand,” said lead researcher Harald Wolf from the University of Ulm in Germany.

“Even among desert ants, the silver ants are special”, he added.

Scientists recorded the speed of the ants by mounting their camera on top of a tunnel going into the ants’ nest.