Incredible facts
There are turtles on Earth that were between 25 and 50 years old when Charles Darwin was born. There are whales that have 200-year-old ivory points still in their flesh. And some cold-loving sponges fed through a filter back in Roman times.
In fact, there are a number of animals in nature whose life expectancy cannot be compared with that of the longest-living person.
Here 10 Animals with the Longest Lifespans, and among them there are even immortals.
1. Guidak
The first on this list are large marine mollusks that live in the bay Puget Sound in the Pacific Ocean and which live for at least 160 years. They are distinguished by their long "necks", or so-called siphons, which can grow up to one meter in length.
2. Tuatara
The word "dinosaur" is often used to allude to a person's old age, but when we're talking about the tuatara, the term becomes as much literal as it is metaphorical. The two species of tuatara that live today are the only survivors of older species that lived about 200 million years ago, and they are truly living dinosaurs. Tuatara are also among the longest-living vertebrates on Earth, with some members living between 100 and 200 years.
3. Marine tube worms Lamellibrachia
These colorful deep sea creatures ( L. Luymesi) are tube worms that live among hydrocarbon vents on the ocean floor. They are known to live for about 170 years, but a number of scientists believe that some representatives lived for more than 250 years.
4. Red sea urchins
Red sea urchins or Strongylocentrotus franciscanus have been found only in the Pacific Ocean, mainly near the west coast of North America. They live in shallow waters from the low tide line at a depth of 90 m, but stay away from very wavy terrain. They crawl along the ocean floor using their spines like stilts. If you happen to encounter one of these creatures, remember to respect your elders, as some species are over 200 years old.
5. Bowhead whales
Also known as polar whales, these marine species are currently the longest-living mammals on Earth. Some bowhead whales have been found with ivory tips protruding from their bodies, left over from failed whaling attempts dating back 200 years. The oldest representative of the bowhead whale is about 211 years old.
6. Koi carp
Koi carp are ornamental domesticated species of common carp. They are most often found in artificial rocky ponds and decorative ponds. Surprisingly, some species can live more than 200 years. The oldest koi carp is considered to be a fish Hanako(Hanako), who died on July 7, 1977 at the age of 226.
7. Turtles
Turtles are considered the longest-living vertebrates on Earth. One of the oldest representatives is the Galapagos tortoise. Harietta, who died of heart failure at age 175 in June 2006 at the zoo. Harietta was considered the last living representative of the legendary expedition of Charles Darwin HMS Beagle. Aldabra tortoise named Aidwata, another oldest turtle, died at the age of 250 in March 2006.
8. Oceanic venus
Oceanic venus ( Arctica islandica) is a type of shellfish that is used commercially. Researchers believe that the dark concentric rings or stripes are marks representing years, just like the rings on a log tree. It is estimated that some of the collected species are about 400 years old.
9. Antarctic sponge
Possibly due to the very cold temperature of the Antarctic Ocean, this sedentary creature has a very slow growth rate. Some believe that one of the oldest representatives is about 1550 years old.
10. Jellyfish Turritopsis nutricula
This species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world that has actually discovered the fountain of eternal youth. Since she is able to move from the adult stage to the immature polyp stage and back, she has no natural limit on her lifespan. Because they can bypass death, their numbers have increased dramatically. Now experts are studying these jellyfish to determine how they manage to reverse the aging process.
While we are looking for the secrets of longevity, there are creatures on our planet that live for more than a hundred years. And there are even immortals.
1. George, a huge lobster that weighs about 9.1 kg. George's age is approximately 140 years. In 2008, it was caught off the coast of Newfoundland and then sold to a restaurant in New York for $100. However, in 2009, under the influence of the Humane Society, he was released back into the ocean.
2. Tuatara Henry, who resides at the Southland Museum, New Zealand, recently celebrated his 115th birthday. Just imagine that Henry was born back in the 19th century.
Despite his advanced age, Henry became a father in 2009.
3. Guidaki- This is a species of marine molluscs, considered the largest burrowing mollusks. In addition, geoducks are also long-lived: their average lifespan is 146 years, and the age of the oldest individual found to date is 168 years.
4. This is Jonathan, A 182-year-old giant tortoise from St. Helena. “He is practically blind and has lost his sense of smell, but he still has good hearing,” says a local veterinarian. At 182, Jonathan may be the oldest living thing on the planet.
This is Jonathan in the 1900s
This is Jonathan now.
5. Greeter is an 83-year-old flamingo who until recently lived at Adelaide Zoo. Greeter was brought to the zoo in the 1930s but was unfortunately euthanized in January 2014 when his condition rapidly deteriorated.
6. In the cold dark In water at a depth of 600 meters, time flows slowly. Hoplostet- a species of deep-sea fish, are known for reaching sexual maturity by 20 years and can live up to 150 years. The oldest hoplostete Born in the year when serfdom was abolished in Russia.
7. Red sea urchins They live on average about 200 years and live in shallow waters off the west coast of America. Red hedgehogs attracted particular attention from scientists after a mark dated 1805 was discovered on one of them.
8. Cookie the Cockatoo Turned 80 last year. He was captured in Australia in 1933 and transported to the United States, where he lives at the Brookfield Zoo.
9. A mollusk named Min, caught on the Icelandic shelf, according to the first assumptions, lived 400 years. Upon re-analysis, scientists determined his age at 507 years.
10. Bowhead whales can live up to 200 years. The average lifespan of this species is about 40 years. However, some individuals can live up to 211 years, which is a record among vertebrates.
11. 103-year-old Granny, the oldest known orca, is the matriarch of the orca community. She was born the same year as Ronald Reagan.
12. Advaita - gigantic 250 year old Aldabra Island tortoise. Unfortunately, Advaita died in 2006. It was very popular among tourists and attracted many visitors to the Kolkata City Zoo.
13. Turtles are famous long-livers. This is 176-year-old Garriette from a zoo in Queensland (Australia). It is believed that Hariette was personally found by Charles Darwin in 1835 on one of the Galapagos Islands. Hariette died in the same year, 2006.
The jellyfish Turritopsis nutricula is considered the only immortal creature on Earth; it lives in tropical waters. As scientists have proven, such jellyfish do not die of old age; when they reach a certain age, they begin to “get younger” - they return to their original stage. And from the stage of a young individual, it begins to develop again. Thus, the creature can live an infinite number of cycles. Such jellyfish die, most often due to predators or diseases.
The Antarctic sponge holds the record for longest lifespan of its species. The creature lives in cold arctic waters. Every year the sponge grows by 0.2 mm, while it lives at a depth of about 200 m, where almost no sunlight penetrates. By reducing the metabolic process, the Antarctic sponge can live from 5 to 15 thousand years.
The place of the longest-living animal is occupied by the mollusk Arctica islandica, an inhabitant of the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The maximum age of the mollusk found by scientists exceeded 500 years. The age of the creature was determined by sclerochronology - by looking at the rings on the inside of the shell. The oldest mollusk found was named Ming, in honor of the dynasty of Chinese emperors, for whom it was a contemporary.
The life expectancy of this mammal is from 40 to 210 years. Among vertebrates, this life expectancy is a record. Previously, the Eskimos hunted bowhead whales off the coast of Alaska, so the animals moved to Greenland. The color of whales is black, sometimes with a white throat. The length of an adult individual is about 21 m, and its weight is 150 tons, which is a lot. Larger than the Greenland whale is only the Blue Whale, whose length can reach 33 meters.
Hatteria lives on the small islands of New Zealand. This small animal is only nocturnal. The lizard lives for about 100-200 years, reaching a length of 76 cm. The animal also represents the beaked heads, and is the only living representative of this order today. Externally, the reptile resembles a large iguana. The lizard is distinguished by the presence of a “third eye” on the crown of the head, although in an adult it is overgrown with scales.
Elephant tortoises are the largest land tortoises and are inhabitants of the islands of the Galapagos archipelago. Mariners caught and consumed the meat of these animals, and therefore, now this species has practically disappeared in nature. In the wild, turtles live for about 100 years; caught animals lived up to 170 years in captivity. The weight of animals can exceed 200 kg. This turtle has a long neck and a relatively small head.
The polar shark, belonging to the Somniosa family, is an inhabitant of the waters of the North Atlantic. The peculiarity of the Greenland shark is its habitat; this predator can live in water with a temperature of 7 to -2 degrees. This is very strange, since most sharks are thermophilic. The animal lives 100-200 years, which is the longest for sharks. This creature is not picky about food and feeds on any living creature.
The age of the oldest found mollusk of this species was 160 years, while the average lifespan of this creature was 140 years. This exquisite delicacy lives in the USA and Canada. Such a long life expectancy of this trunk-like creature is due to the absence of enemies in the animal world and a not very intense metabolism.
Koi carps are small ornamental domesticated fish. The oldest fish of the koi carp species died at the age of 226 years; on average, these fish live 70-100 years. The homeland of this subspecies of common carp is China, but this fish has gained greater popularity in Japan, where they are intensively grown. At first, koi carps were eaten as food, and later they began to be kept at home as ornamental fish.
The Asian elephant closes the list of the longest-living animals. These elephants live in Pakistan, India, Laos, Nepal and Thailand. This mammal is the second largest among elephants. The animal grows up to 3.5 m and reaches a weight of 5 tons. Adults have no enemies in nature, besides people, who have long used Indian elephants as labor. In the wild, elephants live 60-70 years; domesticated animals in a comfortable environment live up to 80 years.
The longest living animals Video
TOP 10 longest living animals
1 place. This creature simply does not die a natural death, so it is impossible to say how long it lives. Immortal animal on the planet small domed jellyfish Turritopsis Nutricula. its size is 4-5 mm. After reproduction, unlike most jellyfish that die immediately, this species settles to the bottom and turns into polyps, that is, it begins its life cycle anew.
2nd place. Sponges- these are the simplest invertebrate animals that have not reached the level of tissue organization. As a rule, in cold waters the metabolism of sponges is very slow; some coral sponges (Sclerospongia) grow very slowly, giving an increase of about 0.2 mm per year. If this growth rate is constant, then the age of coral sponges with a diameter of 1 m can reach 5000 years. And there are individuals even 2 m in size.
Six-rayed sponge Scolymastra joubini lives up to 10 thousand years, this is the maximum value in the animal world. Although there is information about sponges that lived for one and a half thousand years. But despite the fact that they are just a colony of cells, they are still mortal.
3. Coral is the skeletal material of a coral polyp colony. When one polyp dies, another is formed on its skeleton; there are many coral reefs and even islands in the world. Under favorable conditions, the growth of corals is no more than 1 cm per year in the longitudinal direction, so the formation of an average reef can take centuries, islands - millennia. But as a rule, the polyps themselves do not live long, but this does not apply to serpentine coral ( Colpophyllia Nathans), one of its polyps lives for more than 200 years. There is information about the 400-year lifespan of this coral. But this coral is one of the most susceptible to coral diseases.
4. Mollusk- geoduck or king clam. Geoduck, scientific name Panopea Generosa, is a very large, edible, marine mollusk of the family Hiatellidae, the common name comes from a Native American word meaning "to dig deep." Geoduck is both one of the largest mollusks in the world, and one of the longest-lived animals, with an average age of 150 years, and there are reports of 400-year-old mollusks. It has a very large body compared to the shell, it simply does not fit into it, a huge thick neck of the mollusk sticks out of the shell, which is why another name for it is “elephant trunk”; adult guidaks have very few predators except humans. This mollusk is native to the northwest coast of the United States and Canada.
5. Sea worm Lamellibrachia- a genus of tube worms. Lives at a depth of 500 - 800. This tube worm can reach a length of more than 3 m, it grows very slowly and lives for more than 250 years.
6. Red sea urchin(Strongylocentrotus franciscanus). They have the ability to regenerate lost spines. Lifespans often exceed 30 years, and scientists have found several specimens near Vancouver that are thought to live for more than 200 years.
7. Elephant tortoise or Galapagos tortoise(lat. Chelonoidis elephantopus) is a species of land turtle. reaching a weight of more than 400 kg and a length of more than 1.8 meters. With a lifespan in the wild of over 100 years, Galapagos tortoises are among the longest-lived vertebrates. In captivity, captured individuals lived for at least 170 years.
8. Lizard. Hatteria(Tuatara, Latin Sphenodon guntheri) It probably has the slowest growth rate of any reptile, it grows for the first 35 years of its life, the average lifespan is about 60 years, but they can live for over 100 years. Some experts believe that in captivity the hatteria can live 200 years.
9. Koi carp(koi or, more precisely, brocade carp in Japanese. Nishikigoi) are decorative domesticated subspecies of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Koi carp is considered to be a fish that has gone through 6 selective selections, after which it is assigned a certain category. Currently, there are many varieties of koi in Japan, but only fourteen colored shapes and patterns are considered standard.
Koi can live for several decades, and some individuals even for centuries: for example, a purple koi named Hanako (circa 1751 - July 7, 1977) lived with several owners, the last of whom was Dr. Komei Koshihara. . At the time of her death, Hanako was 226 years old.
10. bowhead whale(Balaena mysticetus) It is also known as the arctic whale. Maximum length: 20 m (females), 18 m (males); the weight of an adult animal is from 75 to 100 tons, they feed exclusively on plankton. It lives exclusively in the fertile waters of the Arctic, unlike other whales that migrate to reproduce. Whales live for about 40 years, but some individuals have reached the age of 150-200 years. It has the longest lifespan of any mammal and also has perhaps the largest mouth of any mammal; the whale can eat up to 1.8 tons of food daily.
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Madame Calment was born in February 1875 and died in August 1997, having lived 122 years and 164 days.
By the way, an interesting story: in 1965, when Jeanne Louise Calment was 90 years old, she signed a deal to sell an apartment to a 47-year-old lawyer. According to the agreement, Kalman was to receive a certain amount annually until her death. It took 10 years to pay off the entire cost of the apartment. Unfortunately for the lawyer, the woman lived three times as long. He himself died in 1995, and his widow spent almost two more years paying off Kalman’s debt.
10 animals that live longer than humans
Many people are sure that parrots are long-lived. However, they live on average 15-30 years, and only large breeds sometimes live up to 50-60 years and even 70.
In the wild, living for a long time is very problematic due to diseases and natural enemies. But there are animals whose age exceeds not only the parrot's, but even Ms. Kalman's record.
Arctica islandica- a species of marine bivalve mollusks that live in the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In October 2007, researchers from Bangor University in Wales determined the age of a clam caught off the Icelandic coast to be from 405 to 410 years. This age makes the mollusk the longest-lived animal with a confirmed maximum age.
Bowhead (polar) whale- a marine mammal, a baleen whale, living in the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Life expectancy is about 40 years. However, some individuals can survive up to 211 years old, which is a record among vertebrate animals.
Advaita Turtle(“single” in Sanskrit) is an animal recognized as one of the oldest in the world. At the time of death on the night of March 22-23, 2006, the turtle was, according to various estimates, from 150 to 250 years. Advaita belonged to the giant tortoises and was very popular among tourists. Advaita was the favorite of the hero of the Seven Years' War and the conqueror of India, Lord Clive of the East India Trading Company, who died in 1774.
Koi carp(more precisely, brocade carp) are decorative domesticated subspecies of carp that have gone through six selective selections, after which it is assigned a certain category. Currently, there are many varieties of koi in Japan, but only fourteen colored shapes and patterns are considered standard. A koi fish named Hanako died in 1977 at the age of 226 years old.
Guidak- a type of marine bivalve mollusc. These large (up to 1.5 kg in weight) organisms have very long fused siphons (up to 1 m in length) and a relatively small (up to 20 cm) fragile shell. It is considered the largest burrowing mollusk. The name "geoduck" ("gweduck") is borrowed from the Indians and means "digger deep." It lives off the northwestern coast of the USA and Canada. This mollusk is famous as one of the longest-living animals: the average life expectancy of geidaks is 146 years, and the age of the oldest individual found was 168 years old.
Sturgeons- a genus of freshwater, semi-anadromous and anadromous fish. Body length up to 6 m (Atlantic and white sturgeon), weight up to 816 kg (white sturgeon). The documented age of the oldest sturgeon is 125 years old.
Atlantic roughy(as well as the Atlantic slughead or Icelandic berix) is a large deep-sea sea fish. Lives in cold water at depths of up to 1800 meters in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Known for its high life expectancy. Maximum age recorded up to 149 years old.
European pearl mussel- a type of bivalve mollusk. Inhabits clean fresh streams and rivers of many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. They served as an object of fishing for the extraction of mother-of-pearl and freshwater pearls. Recently, Russian researcher V.V. Zyuganov found that the freshwater pearl mussel has the longest life among freshwater invertebrate animals - maximum life expectancy 210-250 years.
Red sea urchin- a species of sea urchin that lives in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California in rocky shallow waters. It is called red, although the color ranges from pink to almost black. With lifespans often exceeding 30 years, scientists have discovered several red sea urchins aged more than 200 years.
Lamellibrachia luymesi- a type of tube worm that lives in deep (up to 800 m) cold waters near sources of oil and methane. The largest number of these three-meter worms lives in the Gulf of Mexico. The age of most individuals is established to be more than 170 years, but there are specimens over 250 years old.
Source of information Wikipedia
