Rarely do people reach the age of 100, but in the animal world, there are species that live hundreds, even thousands of years, such as turtles, sea urchins, sponges, etc.
List of the longest-lived animals on the planet
As the highest form of evolution, humans are increasingly increasing their lifespan. However, in the natural world, there are many longevity champions that no one knows when humans can “usurp the throne”.
- Large native saltwater clams in Puget Sound
Their lifespan is at least 160 years. They are characterized by long “necks” or water-carrying spouts that can be more than a meter long. In some places, this species is also known as elephant clams.
- Tuatara Lizard
The Tuatara Lizard that exists today is a representative of a species that thrived on Earth 200 million years ago. They are vertebrates, and can live up to 200 years.
- Vestimentiferan Tubeworm
This mollusk lives in a protective shell and stays in one place for its entire life. Vestimentiferan tubeworms can grow up to 3m long and often live in very large groups, which can number in the thousands. They live in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which is more than 750m below sea level. Vestimentiferan tubeworms grow very slowly, and can often live for more than 250 years.
- Red Sea Urchin
Red sea urchins are only found in the Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of North America. This species lives in shallow water, up to 90m deep. They move by using their spines as stilts. Their lifespan is up to 200 years.
- Antarctic whale
The longest-lived mammal in the world, the Antarctic whale can live up to 211 years old. Scientists have found ivory spears still stuck in their flesh during a hunt 200 years ago.
- Koi carp
Although only ornamental fish that live in artificial rock tanks, Japanese carp (Koi) can live up to 200 years old. The oldest known fish was Hanako, who died on July 7, 1977 at the age of 226.
- Turtle
As the world’s longest-lived vertebrate, turtles are the oldest living animals. There was a tortoise named Harriet, who lived on the Galapagos Islands and died in 2006 at the age of 175, having been born before Darwin arrived. The record holder for a tortoise is Adwaita, a giant tortoise on the Galapagos Islands who lived to be 250 years old.
- Ocean Clams
Ocean clams are often harvested for commercial purposes. Researchers interpret the concentric circles or lines on the shells as age rings, similar to those on trees. Some specimens have been found to be as old as 400 years.
- Antarctic Sponges
Perhaps due to the extremely low temperatures in Antarctica, Antarctic sponges, these immobile creatures, have an extremely slow growth rate. Some estimates suggest that they can live up to 1,550 years.
- Immortal Jellyfish
Hydridae jellyfish can live forever by reversing their life cycle from adulthood back to the unicellular stage and then continuing to develop. With this way of existence, they are the immortal animals in the world.
