Animal Lifespan: Top 10 Longest Living Animals on Earth

There are a number of creatures that have such a long life expectancy that they make the list of Longest Living Animals on Earth that the oldest living human being looks like a chick fresh from the shell by comparison.

While the average life expectancy in the world is around 70 years, there are some animals that exceed that age very easily. Here is our list of the 10 animals with the longest lifespan.

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Top 10 Longest Living Animals on Earth

1. Geoduck – Panopea generosa

Geoduck - Panopea generosa - Longest Living Animals on Earth

Geoduck is one of the Longest Living Animals on Earth with the longest lifespan, this mollusk has many peculiarities. Its weight can reach five kilos and its size to a meter in length. However, what really stands out is its longevity. The oldest specimen ever recorded reached 168 years. The main cause for this is the low incidence of natural predators. It is a popular food in the Far East, mainly in China, South Korea, and Japan.

2. Tuatara – Sphenodon

Tuatara - Sphenodon Longest Living Animals on Earth

The word “dinosaur” is used colloquially to describe an older person, but when referring to a tuatara, the term is as literal as it is metaphorical. The two species of tuatara that still survive are the only members of an order that flourished 200 million years ago and that lived with dinosaurs. They are also among the longest-lived vertebrates on Earth, as there are individuals whose existence has exceeded two centuries.

3. Lamellibrachia – Lamellibrachia luymesi

Lamellibrachia

Lamellibracia is an invertebrate that lives on the seabed. Similar to small tubes, they are common in areas where hydrocarbon openings occur. The most common place where they are found in the world is the Gulf of Mexico, at depths ranging from 500 to 800 meters. Each specimen of this species can reach three meters in length.

However, their growth is slow, as well as their longevity, as they are able to live more than 250 years. They are usually found in large aggregations with hundreds of thousands of individuals.

4. Red sea urchinStrongylocentrotus franciscanus

Red sea urchin - animals with the longest lifespan

The red sea urchin is one of the Longest Living Animals on Earth with the longest lifespan, lives only in the Pacific Ocean, along the northwest coast of the American continent. It lives in shallow waters, from the low tide line to 90 meters deep, but in shallow waters. They crawl along the ocean floor using their spines like stilts. If you discover one, remember that you have to respect the elders; some specimens are more than 200 years old.

5. Bowhead Whale – Balaena myscticetus

Bowhead Whale

The Bowhead Whale is also popularly known as “Arc Head” due to the shape of its skull, similar to a large arc, up to five meters in length. Its body is dark and his chin has whitish spots. They usually live in arctic and subarctic regions.

The oldest specimen ever recorded was at least 211 years old. However, researchers have already found whales of this species over 200 years old, which continued to live normally even with ivory spearheads on their bodies.

6. Koi – Cyprinus carpio

Koi - Longest Living Animals on Earth

Koi are fish that have been used for centuries as decorative items in small domestic ponds and gardens, they are one of the animals with the longest lifespan. Existing in a wide variety of species, they originate in Central Europe and Asia, but over time they have been spread around different parts of the world.

The life expectancy of these fish varies between one hundred and two hundred years. One of the possible justifications for this is its easy adaptation to different water temperatures and its resistance. The oldest carp in the world was identified in 1974, at 225 years.

7. Turtle

Turtle

Lifespan of tortoise: Turtles are famous for their longevity, regardless of species. However, some of them stand out. This is the case with Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise used in Charles Darwin’s studies of evolution.

She became famous worldwide for being the last living symbol of the researcher’s expedition and died in 2006 at 175 years old. However, in the same year, a giant tortoise specimen, of the species Aldabrachelys gigantea, died in a zoo at 250 years old.

8. Quahog – Arctica islandica

Quahog

This small mollusk is one of the record holders in longevity. He lives at the bottom of the northern Atlantic Ocean and has lived for more than 400 years. Age is stamped on its shell. According to the researchers, each extra line on the outside of the bark means one year of life.

The justification for life so far is due to the low rates is due to its enormous capacity for antioxidation, which fights to age. Unlike other animals, islandica’s antioxidant defense levels do not decrease after sexual maturity, they stabilize, keeping cells intact for many years.

9. Antarctic sponge – Hexactinellida

Antarctic sponge - animals with the longest lifespan

As their name already says, these sea sponges are prevalent in Antarctica, normally found in the depths of the Southern Ocean.

Its slow growth may be one of the main causes for its incredible longevity. Some researchers estimate that the species can live for up to 1,550 years.

10. Jellyfish – Turritopsis nutricula

Jellyfish - Turritopsis nutricula

This is one of the most intriguing cases in terms of longevity. Jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula is considered the Longest Living Animals on Earth and by science to be the only living being capable of being immortal. The most common explanation for this situation is the fact that it has the only hydrozoan capable of reverting its sexual maturity, that is, when it reaches maturity, its cells are able to convert again into young cells.

This cycle is repeated, providing an indefinite life. Scientists guarantee that this type of jellyfish does not die from natural causes unless it suffers some type of violence, caused by man or by some natural predator. This enormous capacity for survival allowed the species to spread throughout the world.

Conclusion on The Longest Living Animals on Earth

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