Ocean quahog clams Arctica islandica inhabit the North Atlantic Ocean. This saltwater species can live even longer than the other bivalve in this list, the freshwater pearl mussels. One ocean quahog clam found off the coast of Iceland in was years old, according to National Museum Wales in the U. The ancient clam was nicknamed Ming as it was born in when the Ming Dynasty ruled China from to Corals look like colorful, underwater rocks and plants, but they are actually made up of the exoskeletons of invertebrates called polyps.
These polyps continually multiply and replace themselves by creating a genetically identical copy, which over time causes the coral exoskeleton structure to grow bigger and bigger. Corals are therefore made up of multiple identical organisms rather than being a single organism, like Greenland sharks or ocean quahog clams, so a coral's lifespan is more of a team effort. Corals can live for hundreds of years or more, but deep-water black corals Leiopathes sp.
Black coral specimens found off the coast of Hawaii have been measured to be 4, years old, Live Science previously reported. Sponges are made up of colonies of animals, similar to corals, and can also live for thousands of years. Glass sponges are among the longest living sponges on Earth. Members of this group are often found in the deep ocean and have skeletons that resemble glass, hence their name, according to NOAA.
A study published in the journal Chemical Geology estimated that a glass sponge belonging to the species Monorhaphis chuni was about 11, years old. Other sponge species may be able to live even longer. Related: Arctic sponges crawl around the seafloor and leave bizarre brown trails to prove it.
Turritopsis dohrnii are called immortal jellyfish because they can potentially live forever. Jellyfish start life as larvae, before establishing themselves on the seafloor and transforming into polyps. These polyps then produce free-swimming medusas, or jellyfish. Mature Turritopsis dohrnii are special in that they can turn back into polyps if they are physically damaged or starving, according to the American Museum of Natural History , and then later return to their jellyfish state.
The jellyfish, which are native to the Mediterranean Sea, can repeat this feat of reversing their life cycle multiple times and therefore may never die of old age under the right conditions, according to the Natural History Museum in London. Turritopsis dohrnii are tiny — less than 0. Read More about Galapagos giant tortoises. Red sea urchins are believed to be almost immortal and are known to live for over years with no signs of ageing.
They are far more likely to be eaten by a predator than die of an age-related condition, and a year-old is just as healthy and able to reproduce as a young individual.
Finding the age of these spiny echinoderms is possible by measuring the levels of carbon, a process known as radiocarbon dating. The average lifespan for Japanese Koi is around 40 years though they can live a lot longer if living in the right conditions.
Scientists were able to estimate her age by counting growth rings in her scales. Bowhead whales can live for over years, which is longer than any other mammal.
One way to estimate age is to base it on fragments of harpoons left in the blubber of captured animals — one individual had harpoon fragments dating back to the s! Another way is to use DNA to estimate lifespan, with scientists suggesting bowhead whales can live to the grand old age of ! Greenland sharks live for between and years and are the longest-living vertebrate.
They take life very slowly, moving at an average of 0. Despite their huge size and long lifespan though, these sharks have been a mystery to scientists for years.
It was only recently that they discovered a new method of estimating age that involves radiocarbon dating the lens of the eye. New tissues are added to the lens every year and it is possible to tell the age by how much carbon isotope is present in the tissues. Ocean Quahogs are an edible clam with an impressive lifespan. Many will live to see their th birthday and the oldest one on record was years old when it was caught off the coast of Iceland in Scientists were able to determine the age by counting growth rings on the shell, similar to how we age trees.
They can also find out other information too. The oldest currently living land animal is thought to be Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of Saint Helena, and reported to be years old. Tortoises tend to live much longer than turtles. Want to know more differences between turtles and tortoises? Orange roughy — the longest living fish.
The orange roughy — also known as the red roughy, slimehead, or deep sea perch — is a relatively large deep-sea fish weighing up to 7 kg.
Found in deep waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans the fish is a bright red colour which fades to a yellowish-orange after death. The orange roughy is notable for its extraordinary lifespan. When they were first commercial fished in the s their lifespan was thought to be 30 years, but new evidence has come to light that shows they live to exceptional ages — such as one orange roughy caught near Tasmania that was aged at years. Koi fish are a domesticated variety of the common carp native to the Caspian Sea, and can grow up to 1 meter long.
Now found around the world, koi are particularly common as ornamental fish in ponds and artificial rock pools. With an average lifespan of 40 years in the wild, there are many cases of individual koi vastly outliving this average age.
One particular Japanese koi — named Hanako — died in , after which a study based on the growth rings of her scales put her age at Bowhead whales — the longest living mammal. Found in the arctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, the Bowhead whale — also known as the Arctic whale — is the longest living mammal on earth by some way. One specific whale was dated by this method to be years old at the time it died. Rougheye rockfish — fish with a huge lifespan.
The rougheye rockfish is named after the ten or so spines that grow on its lower eyelid. Living in deep waters in the North Pacific and growing to 0. Rougheye rockfish are recognised as being amongst the longest living of all fish and have been known to reach an age of years. The tuatara is a lizard-like reptile endemic to New Zealand, and is the last of a type of a creature that originated during the Triassic period, having diverged from other reptiles around million years ago.
Their longevity has been the subject of a scientific investigation , and during genome sequencing tuatara were shown to contain more genes to protect against aging than any other vertebrate. The red sea urchin is a small, spiny invertebrate that lives in shallow coastal waters around the world. A recent study concluded that the red sea urchin often live to be years old, and some may reach years or more and still in good health.
This puts them at around the same lifespan as the ocean quahog, a bivalve molusc. Urchins in general seem to appear to be able to defy aging, being able to reproduce through their entire lives, and can regenerate lost body parts. The fish are native to subtropical, temperate, and sub-Arctic lakes, rivers, and coastlines of Eurasia and North America.
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