Migrating Alpine Swift Birds Fly Nonstop For Six Months Straight, Study Suggests

The Atlas beetle can push around 850 times its weight.

The coconut crab weighs about 6.6 pounds, and its legs can span up to two-and-a-half feet. Liz Hall from the Melbourne Aquarium inspected Coconut Crab as he took possession of a coconut on Dec. 19, 2006. The coconut crab (also known as the robber crab) is the largest living crab in the world and can climb coconut trees to harvest the nuts, which they can break with their huge nippers. They've also been gruesomely known to feed on injured or unconscious people in the bush.

The giant squid is the world's largest invertebrate, and the largest such squid ever measured was 59 feet long. Giant squids also have the largest eyes of any animal, each one about the size of a human head.

The Etruscan shrew is the smallest mammal (by weight) in the world. The smallest animal by skull size is the bumblebee bat.

The sea wasp jellyfish has enough venom to kill 60 adult humans. (Photo: Guido Gautsch/Flickr)

Arctic terns migrate about 11,000 miles to the Antarctic each year ... and then come all the way back. This Arctic tern dove down to protect its nest on June 24, 2011, on Inner Farne, England.

Blue whales' low-frequency pulses can be heard over 500 miles way. At 188 decibels, these sounds are louder than a jet engine. This blue whale swam in the deep waters off the southern Sri Lankan town of Mirissa on March 26, 2009.

North African ostriches run up to 45 miles an hour, making them the fastest land bird. They are also the biggest, weighing up to 345 pounds. An African ostrich eats at the Addo National Elephant Park, north of Port Elizabeth, on June 24, 2010.

Peregrine falcons dive toward their prey at over 200 mph. A young male peregrine falcon ate meat taken from the protective glove of Taronga Zoo bird trainer Erin Stone (unseen) following a short flying lesson in Sydney on Dec. 9, 2009.

Sailfish can swim at speeds of up to 68 mph, although experts disagree as to just which species of sailfish is the fastest. Sailfish jumped out of the water on Jan. 16, 2006, in the Florida Keys.

Cheetahs can run at speeds up to 70 mph. Majani, a 2-year-old male African cheetah, exhibited lightning speed on March 19, 2004, while chasing a mechanical rabbit at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park as part of the park's environmental enrichment program.

Three giant tortoises are estimated to have lived over 175 years each, with one estimated at a whopping 255 years. Harriet, who died in 2006, was thought to be the third longest-lived tortoise on record. (Photo: Cory Doctorow/Creative Commons)

African elephants are the heaviest and second tallest land animals. Large males can exceed 13,000 pounds and are 12 feet tall at the shoulder. An elephant roamed Tsavo west national park, some 350 kilometers southeast of Nairobi, on Feb. 10, 2011.