The largest and the heaviest animal in the world is the blue whale. It can weigh > 100 tons. Compare the size of a diver with that of the whale!!!

The largest creature without a backbone is the Atlantic giant squid. It can weigh 2 tons and grow up to become 55 feet long!

The largest land mammal is the African bush elephant. It weighs on an average 5.6 tons!

The flightless North African ostrich is the largest bird, weighing up to 345 lbs and growing 9 feet tall.

The pygmy shrew of Northern Europe is rarely 1.5 inches from nose to its tail.

The smallest bird is the bee humming bird of Cuba. It is 2 inches long with a wing span of 1.1 inches and weighs a mere five grams.

The fastest creature is the spine tailed swift. It can fly at a speed > 200 m.p.h.

In the insect world the Goliath beetle weighs 3.4 oz. It measures 4inches across and 5.8 inches long.

The south American bird eating spider has a leg span of 10 inches and body length of 3.5 inches. It is the largest of all spiders.