Why do smaller animals have such fast heartrates?
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Smaller animals have a higher surface area, compared to their volume. So they lose heat faster and need a faster metabolism to compensate, and tend to use more oxygen (relative to their size). The result is, a small heart that must beat really fast.
(Engines are also similar. Some motorcycle engines can spin 10k or even 14k rpm. A car engine can typically spin 7,000 rpm. A semi truck may go up to 3,000 rpm, and a cargo ship might go up to 300 rpm.
The bigger engines produce a lot more power, and can create more energy with each stroke, but they cannot move at the same speed.)
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