The animal kingdom is full of truly interesting and unbelievable creatures. Our lovely friends cats and dogs that we feed in our homes, wolves and lions trying to survive in the wild, and interesting animals in the unexplored oceans have many different and unique features. So who is ahead in terms of life expectancy?
Get ready to see a list of animals you may not have heard of before. The longest living animals in the world have truly unbelievable lifespans. Today we will examine animals whose lifespans range from 250 years to ‘immortality’. To give additional information, let us state that none of the animals on our list live on land, and their main habitat is underwater.
Longest living animals:
- bowhead whale
- Rougheye rockfish
- Freshwater pearl mussel
- bowhead whale
- Tube worm
- Arctica islandica
- Black corals
- Glass sponges
- Immortal Jellyfish (Turritopsis Dohrnii)
- Hydrazoa (Hydras)
1. The world’s second largest whale species, the Greenland Whale, has survived for over 200 years:
Greenland whales (Balaena mysticetus) are the second largest whales in the world after the more well-known Blue whales. The exact lifespan of these whales, which can reach 20 meters in length and weigh 136 tons, is unknown, but it has been determined that they can live more than 200 years. It is known that bowhead whales, which are not among the endangered creatures today, have been alive for more than 200 years and are still living.
2. Rougheye Rockfish among the endangered creatures live 205 years:
This fish species, whose scientific name is ‘Sebastes Aleutianus’, is one of the longest living fish species. According to the statements of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, it is known that the maximum lifespan of this fish is at least 205 years. These creatures, which can grow up to 97 centimeters in length, live in the Pacific Ocean. This species is also known to be endangered in some regions.
3. The oldest of the Freshwater Pearl Mussel is 280 years old:
The freshwater pearl mussel, or scientifically known as margaritifera margaritifera, is a type of mussel that lives in rivers and streams, and is generally found in Europe and America. The oldest known of the freshwater pearl mussels, which have survived for quite a long time thanks to their low metabolism, was announced to be 280 years old. It is known that these animals are endangered due to human-induced factors.
4. The Greenland Shark that has challenged the Greenland Whale for at least 272 years:
Living in the depths of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, the Greenland shark can reach 7.3 meters in length and can survive for quite a long time. According to the statements made, it is known that the maximum lifespan of this shark species is at least 272 years. Holding the title of being the longest living vertebrate in the world, the oldest of these animals is estimated to be 392 years old.
5. Tube Worms can survive over 300 years:
These invertebrates, also known as giant tube worms, live at the bottom of the seas. Research conducted in 2017 concluded that this species regularly lives for more than 200 years. It was also revealed that some tube worms survived for more than 300 years.
6. The living species that has survived for 5 centuries, Arctica islandica:
This clam, which lives in the North Atlantic Ocean, is another of the crustaceans among the longest-living animals. In 2006, it was announced that an arctica islandica species found on the coast of Iceland has lived for about 507 years.
7. Black corals have one that is 4260 years old:
We have come to the parts of the list that make you say “no more”. Black corals consist of exoskeletons of invertebrates called polyps. These polyps, which constantly reproduce and renew themselves by making genetic copies, cause the coral skeletal structure to grow. Therefore, corals can live for hundreds of years. It was revealed as a result of research that the oldest known coral specimens were at the age of 4,260 years.
8. Glass sponges, the oldest of which is 11,000 years old:
Glass sponges, which consist of colonies just like corals, can live for centuries thanks to their structure. Glass sponges, one of the longest living species, are usually found in the deepest parts of the ocean and got this name because of their glass-like skeletons. Studies have shown that the oldest glass sponge species is 11,000 years old. Similar species are also known to survive for more than 10,000 years.
9. Biologically immortal Immortal Jellyfish (Turritopsis Dohrnii):
Turritopsis Dohrnii, or the immortal jellyfish as it is known, derives its name from its apparently endless life cycle. These animals, which can be biologically immortal, can turn into polyps in cases of physical damage or starvation, and then become jellyfish again. These creatures, which can rewind their life cycle indefinitely, are not definitively immortal, as there is no life cycle left to rewind if eaten by fish or other animals. Yet they have the potential to achieve biological immortality.
10. Everlasting Hydrazoa (Hydras):
Hydras, which have soft-bodied jellyfish-like structures, are very small invertebrates and, like immortal jellyfish, have the potential to live forever. Hydras, which have stem cells that are constantly renewed through cloning and reproduction, are capable of living forever as long as they can withstand external threats.
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