Animals living on the land, in the air, and in water can, under the right circumstances, live for many decades or even centuries.
The oldest-documented creature, a clam named Ming the Mollusk, lived for 507 years. Ming was born in 1499, seven years after Christopher Columbus first arrived in North America. We don’t know how much longer Ming would have lived if researchers trying to determine its age in 2006 had not opened the clam and in the process killed it. Ming’s fate is an example of an unfortunate encounter between people and animals. Here are animals humans are driving to extinction.
To find the 50 longest living animals in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data in the Human Ageing Genomic Resources database collection specifically, the AnAge animal longevity database.
Cynthia Kenyon is a biochemist and geneticist working on unlocking the secrets of longevity. At a TED talk in Edinburgh, Scotland, eight years ago, she talked about aging.There are some animals that don’t seem to age,said Kenyon.If you look at birds, which live a long time, cells from the birds tend to be more resistant to a lot of environmental stresses like high temperature, or hydrogen peroxide.
About three-fourths of the 50 species on our list are either fish or mammals like whales that live in the ocean. Size doesn’t appear to be a factor in how long animals live. Salamanders called olms that weigh less than an ounce can live as long as 102 years. The largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, can live to be up to 110 years. Despite its size, the blue whale is not among the most dangerous mammals on Earth. These are the deadliest mammals in the world.
10. Orange roughy
Orange roughy
> Oldest recorded: 149 years
> Average adult weight: 8.5 lbs.
> Habitat: Southern Coast of Australia
9. Aldabra tortoise
Aldabra tortoise
> Oldest recorded: 152 years
> Average adult weight: 550.0 lbs.
> Habitat: Indian Ocean
8. Lake sturgeon
Lake sturgeon
> Oldest recorded: 152 years
> Average adult weight: 154.3 lbs.
> Habitat: Great Lake Basin
7. Shortraker rockfish
Shortraker rockfish
> Oldest recorded: 157 years
> Average adult weight: 19.6 lbs.
> Habitat: Northern Pacific Ocean
6. Galapagos tortoise
Galapagos tortoise
> Oldest recorded: 177 years
> Average adult weight: 500.0 lbs.
> Habitat: Southern Pacific Ocean
5. Red sea urchin
Red sea urchin
> Oldest recorded: 200 years
> Average adult weight: 1.0 lbs.
> Habitat: Northern Pacific Ocean
4. Rougheye rockfish
Rougheye rockfish
> Oldest recorded: 205 years
> Average adult weight: 1.1 lbs.
> Habitat: Northern Pacific Ocean
3. Bowhead whale
Bowhead whale
> Oldest recorded: 211 years
> Average adult weight: 220,462.3 lbs.
> Habitat: Arctic Ocean
2. Greenland shark
Greenland shark
> Oldest recorded: 392 years
> Average adult weight: 2,260.0 lbs.
> Habitat: Arctic Ocean
1. Ocean quahog clam
Ocean quahog clam
> Oldest recorded: 507 years
> Average adult weight: 0.5 lbs.
> Habitat: Northern Atlantic Ocean