Each heading below describes a column of the travel speed dataset. move_speed_ref: Unique reference number for each study reporting animal travel speed. The corresponding references are contained within the supplementary reference list file. move_mass_ref: Unique reference number for each study reporting animal body mass. The corresponding references are contained within the supplementary reference list file. scientific_name: Scientific name of the species according to the taxonomy of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (accessed via GBIF.org during 2022). A small number of studies that report only the genus name or common name of the species are reported in our dataset as Genus sp. (e.g. Gazella sp.). One study, which estimated the travel speed and body mass of an unknown species of mouse via camera traps, is reported in our dataset as Amazon mouse sp. move_movement_mode: Categorical value indicating whether the reported travel speed corresponds to an animal engaged in flying, running, or swimming. This allows species to be accommodated that are capable of multi-modal locomotion (e.g. northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris). taxon_group: Categorical value indicating the membership to one of eight animal groups (amphibian, arthropod, cnidarian, bird, fish, mammal, mollusc, reptile). thermo_reg: Categorical value indicating thermoregulatory strategy, i.e. the contribution of metabolic heat production to the maintenance of core body temperature ( during rest: Ectotherm (negligible contribution: matches ambient temperature), mesotherm (weak contribution: thermal lability in such as in tunas, lamnid sharks and leatherback sea turtles), endotherm (strong contribution: metabolic stable even when ambient temperatures are significantly below ). move_medium: Categorical value indicating whether the animal’s travel speed was measured during locomotion within the terrestrial realm (air) or aquatic realm (water). move_speed_method: Categorical value indicating whether travel speed was estimated directly (i.e. instantaneously via direct observation in real-time, animal-attached speedometer, or video recording) or indirectly from higher-resolution telemetry data (i.e. from changes in an animal’s spatial coordinates at intervals < 30 minutes apart). move_study_condition: Categorical value indicating whether travel speed was estimated under natural field conditions or under controlled laboratory setting such within an aquarium or mesocosm. Travel speeds of the smallest animals (e.g. arthropods) can only feasibly be estimated within a controlled setting. move_avgspeed_value: Categorical value indicating whether average travel speed was reported as a mean or median within the study. move_bodymass_kg: Continuous value indicating the average adult body mass (units: kilograms) of the species. In cases where the study’s reference numbers move_speed_ref and move_mass_ref differ, we referred to secondary literature sources to assign the average adult body mass of the species. In cases where only body length was given, we used published allometric equations to estimate the wet body mass move_avgspeed_ms: Continuous value indicating the average travel speed (units: metres per second) of the species reported within the study.