Although there are animals that have lived on land for a very long time (such as the oldest tortoise at almost 190 years old), turtles make the list of the oldest living animals in the world. The champions all live in the country. Here are 10 longest living animals in the world.
1. The bowhead whale can live for more than 200 years.
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Curved head whale |
Curved head whale (Baalaena mysticetus) is the longest living mammal. The lifespan of whales living in the Arctic and sub-arctic whales is unknown, but some fossil finds demonstrate that they are more than 100 years old, and can live for more than 200 years, according to the Oceanic Administration. and the National Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.
Whales have mutations in a gene called ERCC1, which is involved in repairing damaged DNA, which could help protect whales from cancer, a potential cause of death. Furthermore, another gene, called PCNA, has a duplicated part. This gene is involved in cell growth and repair, and duplication can slow down the aging process.
3. Freshwater pearls live over 250 years
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Freshwater pearls |
Freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) are bivalves that filter food particles out of the water. They mainly live in rivers and streams and can be found in Europe and North America, including the US and Canada. The oldest known freshwater pearl is 280 years old, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These invertebrates have a long lifespan due to their low metabolism.
4. Greenland sharks live over 272 years
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Greenland shark |
Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) lives deep in the Arctic and North Atlantic. They can grow up to 7.3 m long and have a diet that includes fish and marine mammals such as seals.
A 2016 study of the eye tissue of Greenland sharks, published in the journal Science, estimated that these sharks have a lifespan of at least 272 years. According to Live Science , the largest shark in this study is estimated to be 392 years old , and the researchers suggest that these sharks may have lived up to 512 years . This shark became the longest living vertebrate on Earth.
5. Tubeworms live more than 300 years old
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Pipe worms |
Tubeworms are invertebrates that live long in the cold, stable environment of the deep sea. A 2017 study published in the journal Nature Science found that Escarpia laminata, a tubeworm that lives on the ocean floor in the Gulf of Mexico, regularly lives up to 200 years, and some specimens live more than 300 years.
6. Quahog ocean clams live over 500 years
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Ocean clams |
Ocean clams (Arctica islandica) inhabit the North Atlantic Ocean. This saltwater species can live longer than freshwater pearls. According to the National Museum of Wales in England, an ocean clam found off the coast of Iceland in 2006 is 507 years old.
7. Black corals live more than 4,000 years
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Black coral |
Corals look like colorful rocks and underwater plants, but they’re actually made up of invertebrate exoskeletons called polyps. These polyps continuously multiply and replace themselves by creating a genetically identical copy, which over time causes the coral’s exoskeleton structure to grow larger and larger. As a result, corals are made up of many identical organisms rather than a single organism so longevity of the coral is a team effort. Samples of black coral found off the coast of Hawaii are 4,265 years old.
8. Glass sponges live over 10,000 years
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Glass sponge |
Sponges, similar to corals, can also live for thousands of years. Glass sponges are among the longest living sponges on Earth. Members of this group are commonly found in the deep ocean and have glass-like skeletons. A glass sponge of the species Monorhaphis chuni that lived about 11,000 years old. Other sponge species can live even longer.
9. Turritopsis jellyfish have the ability to be immortal
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Turitopsis Jellyfish |
Turritopsis dohrnii is known as the immortal jellyfish. Jellyfish begin life as larvae, before living on the seafloor and transforming into polyps. These polyps then give rise to free-swimming creatures, aka jellyfish. According to the American Museum of Natural History, mature Turritopsis dohrnii are distinctive in that they can turn back into polyps if they are physically damaged or starved and then revert to a jellyfish state.
10. Hydra jellyfish also have the ability to be immortal
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Jellyfish Hydra |
Like Turritopsis jellyfish, Hydras jellyfish also have the potential to live forever. These invertebrates are largely made up of stem cells, which continuously regenerate through duplication or cloning. Hydras don’t live forever in the wild because of threats like predators and disease, but without these external threats, they could be immortal.