Skip to main content
African Dung Beetle (Scarabaeus satyrus)
Strongest
82Six Legs
Bug Bite · From the file on African Dung Beetle

The dung beetle Onthophagus taurus has been measured pulling 1,141 times its own body weight — pound for pound the strongest animal ever recorded.

JournalRoyal Society Proceedings B2010Verified by sources
Read the full file on African Dung Beetle

More Strongest bites

Goliath Beetle (Goliathus regius)
Strongest
Six Legs72

Goliath beetle larvae can weigh 80–100 grams — heavier than the adult that emerges from them.

Goliath BeetleVerified by sources
Goliath Beetle (Goliathus regius)
Strongest
Six Legs72

Lab tests have measured Goliath beetles lifting up to 850× their own body weight — pound for pound, one of the strongest animals ever measured.

Goliath BeetleVerified by sources
Hercules Beetle (Dynastes hercules)
Strongest
Six Legs76

A Hercules beetle can lift around 100× its own body weight — a feat dung beetles still beat by an order of magnitude.

Hercules BeetleVerified by sources
Eastern Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus)
Strongest
Six Legs71

A cicada killer drags her paralyzed cicada — often heavier than herself — back to her burrow, sometimes 100+ meters.

Eastern Cicada KillerVerified by sources
Coconut Crab (Birgus latro)
Strongest
Six Legs88

Chela grip strength reaches UP TO 3,300 NEWTONS (over 740 pounds-force) — strongest pinch in any animal except some sharks and crocodiles. Far exceeds human bite or grip strength.

Coconut CrabVerified by sources