What Is The Longest Lifespan Of An Animal

Ever wondered which animals live the longest? Or how one-time the oldest animate being is?

Believe it or not, there are sharks alive today that were around when William Shakespeare was writing his best works (more than than 400 years ago)! In fact, there are a number of species with lifespans that put the oldest humans to shame.

Below we list the 12 vertebrate animals that live the longest, with lifespans of anywhere upward to 500 years. We've decided to look at vertebrates only for this article, merely at that place are a number of other forms of life on earth – particularly microorganisms, and sponges – that accept been proven to live for thousands, or fifty-fifty millions of years.

For example, some endoliths (microorganisms that alive inside rock, coral and animal shells), have extremely long lifespans, metabolizing slowly with a generation time of around 10,000 years. And in July 2020 marine biologists discovered aerobic microorganisms beneath the sea flooring that they dated to 101.five million years sometime.

When it comes to animals (rather than microorganisms), glass sponges found in the Southern ocean and the Eastward China Sea have been determined by scientists to be about 15,000 years quondam.

And then there is Turritopsis dohrnii – known equally the 'Immortal jellyfish'. This unique brute is able to cycle from a mature adult life stage to an immature polyp life phase once more and once more, which means that – in theory at to the lowest degree – it is biologically immortal. In reality, the immortal jellyfish get injured and eaten like most other animals in the wild, then is not truly immortal.

What brute lives the longest? The bioluminescent Turritopsis dohrnii – the 'immortal jellyfish – is maybe the longest living fauna ever

With this context in mind, here's our list of the 12 vertebrate animals with the longest lifespans. For each species of long-living animal below we list both the estimated average age of the species, and the estimated longest-living known individual animal (where this is known). Sources are provided for all ages:

12 Vertebrate animals that live the longest

Greenland Shark

Oldest known age: 512

Average lifespan: 200

Greenland shark – the longest living animal

According to a 2016 scientific written report, the Greenland shark is the longest living vertebrate in the world by some altitude. Using eye lens radiocarbon testing, a 5 meter Greenland shark was found to exist 392 years sometime ± 120 years. This puts the age range of the shark tested at between 272 and a whopping 512 years old!

Living in the Arctic and Due north Atlantic oceans, the Greenland shark grows very slowly in the cold waters, at an estimated 1 cm a twelvemonth, and doesn't reach full maturity until near 100 years old. They are scavengers, eating a variety of fish and birds, though due to population decline the shark is sadly now considered about-threatened.

Giant Tortoise

Oldest known age: 255

Average lifespan: 150

Galapagos giant tortoise – the longest living state animal

Tortoises come in all shapes and sizes, with their lifespan by and large linked to their size. The boilerplate age a tortoise can live to is between xc and 150 years, depending on their species, with the giant tortoises taking the crown of the oldest terrestrial animals.

Adwaita was an Aldabra giant tortoise who died at Alipore Zoo in Republic of india an estimated historic period of 255 in 2006. The oldest currently living country animal is idea to be Jonathan, a Republic of seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of Saint Helena, and reported to be 188 years old.

Tortoises tend to live much longer than turtles. Desire to know more differences between turtles and tortoises?

Orange Roughy

Oldest known age: 245

Average lifespan: 149

Orangish roughy – the longest living fish

The orange roughy – also known as the red roughy, slimehead, or deep body of water perch – is a relatively large deep-sea fish weighing up to 7 kg. Found in deep waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans the fish is a bright red colour which fades to a yellowish-orange subsequently expiry.

The orange roughy is notable for its extraordinary lifespan. When they were get-go commercial fished in the 1970s their lifespan was thought to be thirty years, merely new evidence has come to light that shows they live to exceptional ages – such equally one orange roughy caught near Tasmania that was aged at 250 years.

Koi

Oldest known age: 226

Boilerplate lifespan: 40

Koi fish – super long living

Koi fish are a domesticated variety of the common carp native to the Caspian Ocean, and can abound upwardly to 1 meter long. Now found around the world, koi are particularly mutual equally ornamental fish in ponds and artificial rock pools.

With an average lifespan of 40 years in the wild, in that location are many cases of individual koi vastly outliving this average age. One particular Japanese koi – named Hanako – died in 1977, after which a study based on the growth rings of her scales put her age at 226. It's worth noting that in that location is some controversy about this method of dating koi, and then the issue is non universally accepted.

Bowhead Whale

Oldest known historic period: 211

Average lifespan: 100

Bowhead whales – the longest living mammal

Found in the arctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, the Bowhead whale – also known as the Chill whale – is the longest living mammal on earth by some mode.

Using chemical evidence from the whales' eyes and teeth, together with dating harpoon tips lodged in their mankind, the average bowhead whale has been plant to have a lifespan of over 100 years. One specific whale was dated by this method to exist 211 years onetime at the time information technology died.

Rougheye Rockfish

Oldest known age: 205

Average lifespan: Unknown

Rougheye rockfish – fish with a huge lifespan

The rougheye rockfish is named later the ten or so spines that grow on its lower eyelid. Living in deep waters in the North Pacific and growing to 0.8 meters, they feed on shrimps, crabs, and other fish.

Rougheye rockfish are recognised as being amongst the longest living of all fish and have been known to reach an age of 205 years

Tuatara

Oldest known age: 200

Boilerplate lifespan: 100

Tuatara – the long-living lizard

The tuatara is a lizard-like reptile endemic to New Zealand, and is the last of a blazon of a creature that originated during the Triassic flow, having diverged from other reptiles effectually 250 million years ago.

Tuatara can live to well over 100 years, with Henry, a tuatara in captivity at New Zealand's Southland Museum, mating for the beginning time at the age of 111 with an eighty-year-onetime female person to father eleven babies. Their longevity has been the subject of a scientific investigation, and during genome sequencing tuatara were shown to comprise more than genes to protect against aging than any other vertebrate.

Red Ocean Urchin

Oldest known age: 200

Boilerplate lifespan: 100

A group of carmine sea urchins

The red sea urchin is a small, spiny invertebrate that lives in shallow littoral waters effectually the earth. A recent written report concluded that the ruby-red ocean urchin often live to be 100 years old, and some may reach 200 years or more and still in good wellness. This puts them at around the same lifespan every bit the ocean quahog, a bivalve molusc.

Urchins in full general seem to announced to be able to defy aging, being able to reproduce through their entire lives, and tin can regenerate lost body parts.

Sturgeon

Oldest known age: 150

Average lifespan: 100

A sturgeon fish

Sturgeons are referred to equally 'primitive fishes' every bit they remain almost unchanged since their earliest fossils, which engagement to effectually 200 million years ago at the end of the Triassic period. The fish are native to subtropical, temperate, and sub-Arctic lakes, rivers, and coastlines of Eurasia and N America.

Ranging ii to 7 meters long, sturgeon are amongst the longest living fishes, living to 100 years on average. Female lake sturgeon are the longest living type of sturgeon and tin can live to be 150 years sometime.

Macaw

Oldest known age: possibly 121

Boilerplate lifespan: 35

Macaws – the longest living birds

Macaws are the largest and most vibrantly coloured members of the parrot family, and found in ranges beyond N and South America. In the wild macaws accept a life expectancy of effectually 35 years, though live much longer in captivity due to the lack of predation. Information technology'due south thought that the size of the macaw is linked to its longevity – the larger the bird is, the longer its lifespan.

Whilst information technology's common for pet macaws to live to lxx or 80, it'due south possible they can live much longer. Ane blue-and-yellowish macaw called Charlie is said to have been hatched in 1899 and was in one case the pet of Winston Churchill (though this claim has been refuted by Churchill's manor). Charlie supposedly celebrated her 120th altogether at a garden center in Reigate, England in 2019.

Longfin Eel

Oldest known age: 106

Average lifespan: 60

A longfin eel peeps out from cover

Native to New Zealand and Australia these eels are a traditional nutrient source for the Maori people. The longfin eel averages an historic period of around 60 years, and the oldest living longfin eel always recorded died at 106 years old. As with the Greenland shark, these eels grow extremely slowly, which helps them reach such old ages.

Elephant

Oldest known age: 86

Boilerplate lifespan: 60

An African elephant has an imesnse lifespan

Elephants are the largest land animals in the world, and have an impressive average lifespan of around 60 years.

The oldest individual elephant we're enlightened of – confirmed by Guinness Earth Records – was Ling Wang, an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), who died on 26 February 2003 anile 86, at Taipei Zoo, Taiwan.

Do you know all of the differences betwixt Asian and African elephants?

Greater Flamingo

Oldest known age: 83

Average lifespan: 35

Greater flamingo wandering in a lake

The greater flamingo is the most common of the six flamingo species, recognisable for their long neck, pink coloring, and black-tipped beak with a sharp down curve.

In the wild greater flamingos have an average lifespan of 35 years, whilst in captivity, the birds are known to live to around lx years old. The oldest known greater flamingo – named Greater – died at Adelaide Zoo in Jan 2014 at the historic period of 83.

What to know why flamingos stand up on i leg?

And that's your lot for our pick of animals that live the longest. What practice you remember – did whatever of these long-living animals surprise you? Please let us know your thoughts or any experiences you lot have of seeing these animals in the wild in the comments section below!

Notice more of our wild fauna posts…

Source: https://safarisafricana.com/animals-that-live-longest/

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