Living It Up
February 9th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
Most of us will be pretty familiar with the fact that humans have a life expectancy of around 80 years, with more accurate studies putting this figure around 77.5 years. I was discussing previously with family the fact of owners of pet turtles and parrots that have to ensure these pets have future owners lined up because of their longevity. Pet turtles are likely to reach past the 50-year mark, and parrots can live to be around 80. But what about other animals? Who lives the longest and who lives the shortest? I did some research to find out.
It is difficult to answer the question of the longest living animal as it comes down to the question of ‘What is an animal?’ If we decide to simply round it down to ‘conscious’ animals (those that move around and respond to the environment), the longest living animals are tortoises, who can live between 150 and 200 years.
The tortoise has a possible competitor; a sphenodontia (like a lizard) called the tuatara which is found in New Zealand. Most of them live to be about 60-years-old, but it is not uncommon to find some living over 100 years. Some experts believe that a captive tuatara will be able to live for up to 200 years.
The Tuatara, a lizard which can live over 100 years
The longest living animal ever discovered was a 405-year-old clam in Iceland. Clams are scientifically considered to be animals. The longest living captive animal was a giant tortoise which lived to be 177. A giant tortoise which lived on the island of Mauritius was known to be 152-years-old, and if it was not accidently killed might have lived a century longer. The longest living mammal is not a human, but the bowhead whale which has been known to live up to 170 and possibly more than 200 years. Unconfirmed sources even estimate ages of 245.
Some fish and reptiles can keep on growing and living for extended periods of time unless an accident causes them to die. It is possible that the oldest living animal to have lived or be living at moment is a fish somewhere in the ocean or a reptile in the wild, but consequently these are too hard to observe and evaluate age. Koi fish can live for centuries. A famous scarlet koi named Hanako was reported to have lived to 226, and switched many owners. She is the longest-living koi fish ever discovered.
A specimen of Antarctic sponge has been estimated to be 1,550-years-old. The lamellibranchia, a type of tube worm, holds the lifespan record for invertebrates with individuals living for over 260 years.
A specimen of Antartic sponge, Cinachyra antartica, is estimated to be 1,550-years-old
Scientists in the remote southwest corner of Tasmania have found what they claim might be a 40,000-year-old shrub, thereby making it the oldest living organism in the world. The plant, known as King’s Holly, is the only known living specimen of the species Lomatia Tasmania. It is not only older than the last ice age but also incredibly big. A huge colony of the sea grass Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean Sea could be up to 100,000-years-old.
250-million-year-old bacteria was found in ancient sea salt beneath Carlsbad, New Mexico. The microscopic organisms were revived in a laboratory after being in ‘suspended animation’, encased in a hard-shelled spore, for an estimated 250-million-years. The species has not been identified, but is referred to as strain 2-9-3, or B. permians. 40-million-year-old bacteria (Bacillus sphaericus) were found in the stomach of a bee encased in amber. These bacteria were also found in a state of suspended animation and were re-animated in a laboratory.
The shortest living animal known is the microscopic gastrotrich, which lives in fresh water and marine environments. It lives for just three days. The mayfly, after spending up to 3 years hatching, lives less than one day as an adult. They begin their life in late afternoon, molt twice, mate, lay eggs and die before dawn. They do not eat during this time. Kind of depressing, hey?
The microscopic gastrotrich lives for just three days
It is not true that a dragonfly lives for one day. Their lifespan is around six months, with some species living up to seven years.
The oldest human to have lived was Jeanne Calment, at 122 years and 164 days. She took up fencing at 85, still rode a bicycle at 100, loved chocolate and cigarettes (although gave up at 120) and even released a rap CD at 121. She lived through France’s Third and Fourth Republics, and into its Fifth. She was 14 when the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. The oldest person currently living is Kama Chinen of Japan, at 114 years.
For an idea of some of the expected maximum life spans of different animals under optimal conditions, a brief list is below:
Alligator – 56
Ant – 3
Bear – 40
Bee – 5
Boa Constrictor – 23
Camel – 50
Carp – 100
Cat – 25
Chicken – 14
Cow – 22
Crocodile – 45
Deer – 27
Dog – 22
Donkey – 45
Elephant – 70
Frog – 16
Guinea Pig – 8
Hippopotamus – 45
Horse – 40
Kangaroo – 9
Lion – 35
Parrot – 104
Rabbit – 23
Rat – 4
Sheep – 15
Snake – 18
Tiger – 22
Wombat – 15
Of course, this varies from species to species. For a more detailed list and other information, check out my sources:
Jeanne Calment’s Death (News Article)
Life Spans
Longest and Shortest Life Spans
Oldest People
The Life Span of Animals
Hope you enjoyed reading this, and may you live long and prosper!
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