The 15 longest living animals in the world

  Animals living in natural conditions rarely reach old age due to the high mortality rate. Life is complicated by harsh weather conditions, disease, and competition for food and territory. The list of negative factors can be continued for a long time. And yet there are several species of animals that can boast of longevity, despite the harshness of their wild habitats. Compared to them, even the oldest living person will seem like a baby.

Here's the list of 15 longest living animals and birds.

Red sea urchin

The first candidate for the title of the longest living creature on the planet is the red sea urchin. It lives in shallow and sometimes rocky waters of the Pacific Ocean along the western coast of North America and the northern coast of Japan. The lifespan of these small, spiny creatures ranges from 100 to 200 years or even more.

The hedgehog prefers calmer areas, so it stays away from the shore at a depth of up to 90 meters. They move along the ocean floor with the help of legs and spines, which they use as stilts.

Koi fish

On average, these fish live 40 years, b

ut there are reports of koi reaching the age of 200 years. The Japanese gave the name Hanako to one famous centenarian. After his death in 1977, researchers discovered that one of the fish's scales was at least 226 years old.

In general, koi are an ornamental variety of carp, so they are often kept in home aquariums, rock pools and ponds. These fish grow up to 1 meter in length. Natural habitat is the Pacific Ocean basin, the Mediterranean Sea basin.

Long-finned eel

New Zealand and Australia are considered the homeland of the eel. It is not uncommon for these animals to reach the age of 60 years, and the oldest was 106 years old. The longevity and slow aging of long-finned eels is explained by their prolonged growth.

Fish is used by Maori as a traditional food source. Now this species is endangered, but this fact, unfortunately, does not prevent the eel from being caught for commercial purposes.

Almost all fresh water bodies - rivers and lakes that have access to the sea - serve as habitats for eels. Young fish prefer quiet, shallow areas with muddy bottoms. Adults settle in dense aquatic thickets and crevices.

Macaw

Parrots usually live to be 60-80 years old, and reach sexual maturity at 30-35 years of age. Recently, this species is under threat of extinction. The reason for this was the deterioration of habitat conditions, as well as the illegal trade in parrots.

The oldest parrot named Charlie turned 122 years old on January 1, 2021. It is Britain's oldest bird and currently lives in a conservatory in Surrey.

Elephants

On average, these giants live to be 70 years old. Interestingly, female African elephants can bear offspring up to 55-60 years of age.

The world's oldest elephant has died at the age of 88. Dakshayani - that was the name of the centenarian - was the property of the Indian religious community Travancore Devaswom Board. Dakshayani, who was also nicknamed Grandmother Elephant, actively participated in city festivals, religious ceremonies and processions, and despite her advanced years, she did an excellent job and felt good. However, in the last years of her life, she stopped being active and no longer took part in public events. The elephant died in February 2019.

Another oldest representative of the species is Lin Wang, who is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest living elephant in the world. Lin Wang died in 2003 at the age of 86. Another famous elephant named Indira died in 2017, having lived to an old age - she was reported at the time to be around 85-90 years old.

Turtle

One of the longest-living vertebrate creatures on Earth is the turtle. Her average life expectancy is 150 years. The world's oldest Galapagos tortoise, Harriet, died in 2006 at the age of 175 from heart failure.

Another famous long-liver, a turtle named Jonathan, who reached the age of 187 years, was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest known land creature. He lives on the island of St. Helena, where he ended up at the age of 50. It is noteworthy that during the life of this turtle there were eight British rulers and 51 British prime ministers.

bowhead whale

The average lifespan of this giant is 60-70 years. However, as shown by a study of whales, inside of which ancient ivory spears were found, they can reach the age of 100 years, and some even more than 200 years.

The bowhead whale lives in the cold waters of the North Atlantic as well as the North Pacific Ocean. This is the only species of baleen whale that spends its entire life in polar waters.

Greenland shark

The maximum age of the Greenland shark that could be established is 392 years. The research was carried out using radiocarbon testing of the eye lens.

Scientists have concluded that the Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate known to man today.

The shark is among the endangered species and lives in Arctic waters, as well as in the North Atlantic at depths of 1200 to 2100 meters or more.

The size of the predator is truly enormous - the shark reaches 2-4 meters in length. These animals grow for a very long time, and the annual growth is only 1 cm. Greenland sharks reach maturity at 100 years old - this is how long their childhood is.

Ocean Quahog

The creature is a bivalve mollusk with an average lifespan of 100 years. Some specimens are 200 or even more than 400 years old. The oldest mollusk named Min was 507 years old. He received his name in honor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, during which he lived. The age of the mollusk is determined by the valves of the quahog.

The habitat of this amazing creature is the east coast of North America, Iceland, Shetland Islands and Cadiz.

Quahogs feed on microscopic algae, which they obtain by burrowing into the ocean floor.

Antarctic sponges

The age of these creatures is about 300 years. Sponges live at depths of 100 to 2000 meters at very low temperatures. Being in such conditions significantly slows down the rate of development of the organism, inhibits biological processes, due to which the lifespan of sponges increases.

According to 2002 research, one species of Antarctic sponge, Anoxycalyx joubini, has enormous life potential and could reach an age of 15,000 years. The maximum age of another species, Cinachyra antarctica, which lives less deep underwater, could be 1,550 years.

Guidak

The huge marine bivalve mollusk lives more than 165 years. Moreover, at the beginning of its development, the mollusk grows quickly - more than 2.5 cm per year during the first 4 years.

Taking into account the size of the long siphons, geoducks can reach more than 1 meter in length and only about 20 cm are on the shell itself.

The mollusk's habitat covers the northwestern Pacific Ocean and extends from California to Alaska.

Hatteria or tuatara

The creature is the only living representative of the order Beakheads, which flourished in a very early period - about 200 million years ago.

Tuatara are one of the longest-living vertebrates on the planet, and the maximum age they reach is more than 100 years. They reach sexual maturity at 10-20 years of age, and growth continues until 35-40 years of age.

The only place where tuatara have been found is New Zealand.

Tube worm Lamellibrachia

The colorful appearance of these creatures instantly attracts attention. Worms live at great depths and can reach an age of 170-250 years.

Their habitat is deep-sea cold outlets through which hydrocarbons (methane and oil) seep from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean . Most often, these creatures are found in shallow areas of the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 500-800 meters.

Lamellibrachia develops very slowly and grows throughout its life, eventually reaching 2-3 meters in length.

Immortal jellyfish

An inhabitant of the Mediterranean Sea, Turritopsis dohrnii is a unique representative of the animal world that has discovered the source of youth and eternal life. The fact is that a jellyfish has the ability to move from the stage of maturity to the stage of an immature polyp, and so on ad infinitum. There is no natural limiter on the lifespan of this jellyfish.

In addition to its endless potential, Turritopsis dohrnii has excellent survival skills. For its movement, the jellyfish uses cargo ships, clinging to their bottom and thus covering long distances.

At the same time, all these possibilities do not make the jellyfish physically invulnerable. As practice shows, these creatures often die from their injuries or are eaten by other animals.