How old would you say the longest living animal lives for? Maybe 100 years? Maybe 200? Well, the answers might well surprise you because they are far longer than even your wildest imagination can conger up…
Ten of the Longest Living Animals on Earth (Longer than you think!)
10 – Geoducks – Average Lifespan: 160 years
Despite their name they are not ducks at all, they are saltwater clams. They get their name thanks to the long “neck” like siphons.
9 – Tuatara – Average Lifespan: 200 years
You might have thought this list would have been full of animals closely relating to the dinosaurs, but they really don’t live that long thanks to countless predators. But the ones that do survive like the Tuatara do live a lot longer than you might think.
8 – Lamellibrachia Tube Worms – Average Lifespan: 200 years
While they are not the most exciting animals on this list these colourful deep sea tubes are quite pretty and live amongst super hot hydrocarbon vents on the ocean floor.
7 – Red Sea Urchins – Average Lifespan: 200 years
These small sea urchins live long lives mostly because they hide and spend a lot of their life hiding under rocks. But even ones in captivity are known to live for hundreds of years.
6 – Bowhead Whales – Average Lifespan: 200 years
Otherwise known as Arctic Whales they are the largest animals on this list by far and while they are quite elusive to track, thanks to known distinctive markings they can be aged with a fair degree of accuracy.
5 – Koi – Average Lifespan: 200 years
While most pond Koi won’t live anywhere near that age the ones in the wild, warmer waters of Japan are known to live a lot longer.
4 – Tortoises – Average Lifespan: 250 years
If you ask most people to name a long living creature they will often say a tortoise. While lifespans do very many have been known to live for hundreds of years.
3 – Ocean quahog – Average Lifespan: 400 years
See all those little lines all over this clams shell? Each of those rings is the passing of one year, much in the same vein as trees do. And as you might imagine that is a lot of lines to count!
2 – Antarctic sponge – Average Lifespan: 1,550 years
While it sounds as if this sponge lives forever, in reality, it grows and ages super slowly because it lives in extremely low temperatures of the Antarctic Ocean! Basically, it is cryogenically frozen for most its life.
1 – Turritopsis Nutricula jellyfish – Average Lifespan: Infinite!
I would tell you the number of years this Jellyfish lasts for, but currently, it is unknown and thought to be infinite! So why isn’t the world’s seas full of them? Apparently, their lifespan is infinite, but they are a tasty snack for many enemies.