Animals that live longer

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 7 August 2021
Update Date: 1 November 2024
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The Shortest and Longest Lifespans of Animals
Video: The Shortest and Longest Lifespans of Animals

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Vampires and gods have only one thing in common: the conscious manifestation of our inherent fear of the absolute emptiness represented by death. However, nature has created some truly amazing life forms that seem to flirt with immortality, while other species have a fleeting existence.

If you want to know more about this subject, we advise you to continue reading this PeritoAnimal article because we'll find out what the animals that live longer and you are sure to be speechless.

1. Immortal jellyfish

the jellyfish Turritopsis nutricula opens our list of animals that live the longest. This animal is no more than 5 mm long, lives in the Caribbean Sea and is probably one of the most amazing animals on planet Earth. It surprises mainly because of its incredible life expectancy, because is the longest-lived animal in the world, being virtually immortal.


Which process makes this jellyfish the longest-lived animal? The truth is that this jellyfish is able to reverse the aging process as it is genetically able to return to its polyp form (the equivalent for us of becoming a baby again). Amazing, isn't it? That's why, without a doubt, the Jellyfish Turritopsis nutriculaéthe oldest animal in the world.

2. Sea sponge (13 thousand years)

The sea sponges (porifera) are primitive animals truly beautiful, although to this day many people still believe they are plants. Sponges can be found in almost all of the world's oceans, as they are particularly hardy and can withstand cold temperatures and depths of up to 5,000 meters. These living creatures were the first to branch out and are the common ancestor of all animals. They also have a real impact on water filtration.


The fact is that sea sponges are probably the animals that live the longest in the world. They have existed for 542 million years and some have exceeded 10,000 years of life. In fact, the oldest, of the Scolymastra joubini species, is estimated to have lived 13,000 years. Sponges have this incredible longevity thanks to their slow growth and generally cold water environment.

3. Ocean Quahog (507 years old)

The ocean quahog (island artica) is the longest-lived mollusc that exists. It was discovered by accident, when a group of biologists decided to study the "Ming", considered the oldest mollusc in the world, that died at the age of 507 due to the clumsy handling of one of his observers.


This shellfish that is one of the animals that live longer it would have appeared about 7 years after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus and during the Ming dynasty, in the year 1492.

4. Greenland shark (392 years old)

The Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) inhabits the frozen depths of the Southern Ocean, the Pacific and the Arctic. It is the only shark with a soft bone structure and can reach up to 7 meters in length. It is a large predator that, fortunately, has not been exterminated by humans, as it inhabits places rarely visited by humans.

Due to its rarity and the difficulty of finding it, the Greenland shark is largely unknown. A group of scientists claimed to have found an individual of this species of 392 years old, which makes it the longest-lived vertebrate animal on the planet.

5. Greenland Whale (211 years old)

The Greenland Whale (Balaena mysticetus) is completely black, except for her chin, which is a nice shade of white. Males measure between 14 and 17 meters and females can reach 16 to 18 meters. It is a truly large animal, weighing between 75 and 100 tons. In addition, the right whale or polar whale, as it is also called, is considered one of the longest-living animals, reaching 211 years of age.

Scientists are genuinely intrigued by the longevity of this whale and especially its ability to be cancer free. it has 1000 times more cells than us and should be more affected by the disease. However, its longevity proves otherwise. Based on the decoding of the genome of the Greenland Whale, the researchers believe that this animal was able to create mechanisms to prevent not only cancer, but also some neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.[1]

6. Carp (226 years old)

The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is probably one of the farmed fish most popular and appreciated in the world, especially in Asia. It is the result of crossing selected individuals, which are born from a common carp.

THE life expectancy of carp is around 60 years and therefore it is one of the longest-living animals. However, a carp named "Hanako" lived 226 years.

7. Red sea urchin (200 years old)

The Red Sea Urchin (strongylocentrotus franciscanus) is about 20 centimeters in diameter and has spines up to 8 cm - have you ever seen something like that? It's the biggest sea urchin in existence! It feeds mainly on algae and can be particularly voracious.

In addition to its size and spines, the giant red sea urchin stands out as one of the longest-living animals as it can reach up to200 years.

8. Giant Galapagos Tortoise (150 to 200 years old)

The Giant Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis spp) as a matter of fact comprises 10 different species, so close to each other that experts consider them to be subspecies.

These giant tortoises are endemic to the famous Galapagos Islands archipelago. Their life expectancy ranges from 150 to 200 years.

9. Clockfish (150 years)

The clock fish (Hoplostethus atlanticus) lives in every ocean in the world. However, it is rarely seen because it lives in areas to more than 900 meters deep.

The largest specimen ever found was 75 cm long and weighed about 7 kg. Furthermore, this clockfish lived 150 years - an incredible age for a fish and therefore makes this species one of the longest living animals on the planet.

10. Tuatara (111 years old)

The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) is one of the species that has inhabited the Earth for over 200 million years. this little animal have a third eye. In addition, their way of getting around is truly ancient.

The tuatara stops growing around 50 years of age, when it reaches 45 to 61 cm and weighs between 500 grams and 1 kg. The longest-lived specimen recorded is a tuatara who lived over 111 years - a record!

And with tuatara we finalize our list of animals that live longer. Impressive, right? Out of curiosity, the person who lived the longest in the world was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at 122 years of age.

And if you want to know more about animals from the past, we recommend reading this other article where we list the 5 oldest animals in the world.

If you want to read more articles similar to Animals that live longer, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.