If a human makes it to 135 years that’s considered plenty old. But many long-lasting species see 80 years as mere infancy. Let’s take a look at some of the oldest living creatures on the planet
what better way to kick out the list of incredibly old creatures with a species that might literally be immortal than that era topsy door not unofficially known as the immortal jellyfish.
The Jellyfishes
Is without question the most unique creature on the planet.
That’s because as far as we know it’s the only one who can survive indefinitely if not forever. It does this by following the advice many of us get: as we grow older we embrace our inner child but they take it to the logical extreme. After reproduction, the jellyfish’s body begins to shut down rather than let death take its natural course. The jellyfish will actually revert back to its immature polyp stage rolling back into a mature jellyfish over time so as to reproduce once again.
Is the kicker they can do this as often as they like and they remain the same jellyfish every time by growing down, then up then down then up again over and over. The jellyfish affectively lives forever as far as we can tell the only way an immortal jellyfish guise is via accident disease or predator. Basically, if something happens to impede their self-contained circle of life and death ceases to take over. But if the jellyfish stays healthy and doesn’t find itself anybody’s dinner it could theoretically outlive both our species. And whatever dominant species come after us or maybe they will become the dominant species why not it got enough time on their hands or rather tongue in their tentacles.
Worms
The 42.000-year-old prehistorical worms must have been made far harder stuff in the words of today. How else to explain a couple of worms who after 42,000 years of frozen stasis sprung back to life like it was their plan all along.
In July 2018 a group of Russian scientists teamed up with Princeton University to analyse some 300 members of groundworks that had been buried in Siberian permafrost since the Stone Age. Scientists thought the worms out expecting little to happen beyond good science. Instead they got a borderline miracle: two of the worms after being thought out began to move. What’s more, they started eating, they were well and truly alive after all these millennia.
The worms both female quickly got carbon-dated to ensure these weren’t regular worms who had fallen in the snow a week ago. There was one worm called Elsa, which is around 32,000 years old. In the other room there is a worm just under 42,000 years old that makes them by far the oldest living multicellular creature on earth. Roundworms typically only live around four months so it’s not likely Elsa that are still with us unless of course the scientists were full but thinking enough to refreeze them so they could be rethought and reanalysed 50,000 years from now.
Glass Sponge
The 11.000-year-old Glass sponge might as well have lived forever since it lasted a whole lot longer than we ever will.
In 2012 a research reviews journal discussed a member of the sponge species. Have had been discovered and revealed that the sponge lived to be an astronomical 11,000 years old while on an Elsa the roundworms clocked in at 42,000 years old. Much at that time was spent frozen but this sponge survived and thrived non-stop for 11 millennia even for a deep-sea creature with few actual predators. This is an unreal life span and it’s hard to say for sure how the one particular sponge lasted for so long as it has the same features and defensive mechanisms as any other model. Here you’ll find more about it
Typically as a size glass sponge longevity being a tiny sponge may only survive a few years but if a sponge is wider than one metre could live for several thousand years. This sturdy nut little guy was at least that wide with spiky 10-foot spicules taboo. This specimen got to 11,000 years of the fine ocean, love it before leaving us for that big sponge rack in the sky.
Black Coral
The 4265 y old corals are the most exciting creatures on the planet given that they just hang around one part of the ocean floor their whole lives. It is still incredible to know that at least one particular bit of coral has hung around since the old Kingdom of ancient Egypt in 2009.
The team of scientists from Texas then change their minds on a legal path. The coral they’ve been studying off the coast of Hawaii. Since the research began in 2002 they were convinced that the coral was only a few 100 years old. As it turns out that was not the case rather the coil was a few thousand years old. He’s like thinking a girl is in preschool when she’s someone’s 90-year-old grandmother. Its age becomes even cooler when you consider that they’ve looked like a black skeleton with orange tissue.
In short, it’s an ancient Halloween creature that is beyond awesome. What’s not awesome is that this 4200-year-old creature is under threat eg, a threat fisherman that damages the chorus and cultures keeps lobbing out pieces of the coil for jewellery. Hopefully, we can stop endangering these ageless wonders soon and leave them alone so they continue to be ageless.
The 520 y old Shark
Provided that you don’t look and feel old every year over probably be cool to live to 500 unless, of course, you don’t achieve sexual maturity through about 50 years, that’s probably last fun.
That is however the life of the Greenland shark probably the longest living species of shark around because they only grow around 1CM a year they don’t start to age for a long long time. The typical Greenland shark can live around 400 years and there are some decidedly typical sharks out there. One shark in particular at a whopping 5 metres long or 16 and a half feet ball is likely the oldest Greenland shark ever and perhaps the longest living shark in history.
A 2016 study published in Science magazine tagged a shark as being 392 years old with a plus-minus margin of 120 years. That means the shark potentially be nearly 520 years old with no signs of slowing down. But this longevity comes at a price: female Greenland sharks came to be reproduced until there almost 160 years old so until then they are just swimming around and eating waiting for the time they grow old enough to make babies.
The powers of nuclear radiation basically discovered several dead sharks contained high amounts of carbon. 14 through the radiation from 1950s nuclear bomb testing seeping into the water. The amount of carbon in the corpses combined with their body lengths told the scientists these sharks were born in the 1960s. The scientists used that basic formula having 14 amounts plus a basic link to determine the approximate ages of many more. Greenland sharks including the one that’s possibly 520 years old.
Giant Tortoise
The 255 years old tortoises always have trouble living for a long time. Many of them make it to 100 two 120 years old so long as they’re not eaten by a bird or snake. We know babies about the size of a tennis ball which makes add why this story all the more amazing.
This Aldabra giant tortoise was born around 1750 and didn’t die until 2006. At 255 years old he was the single oldest land creature in the world and quite possibly the longest living land creature of all time. Amazingly the widest storey doesn’t include much of anything that would point to why he lived for so long. He was by all measures a typical tortoise wait, typical tortoise food and lifted, typical tortoise life.
However for some reason, he managed to hang on longer than any other tortoise ever truth be told he might still be alive today if not for one incident. In 2005 his shell suffered a crack in the womb developed and that wound quickly became infected a year later his wife was dead carbon. The dating of his shell confirmed that he was indeed 255 years old, but we’re still no closer to figuring out how he managed it.
The 211 y old Bowhead
Depending on Wales the average lifespans may vary. Wales can live around 80 years, killer whales may only make it to 30, then you have the bowhead whale which is almost certainly the oldest living whale in the world and it might be the oldest mammal.
We only learned about this by accident. In 2007 a fisherman caught a bowhead with a harpoon stuck in its head. Once more that particular brand of a harpoon is only produced between 1879 and 1885. Curious researchers examined the specimen further determining that it was about 130 years old. At the time of death, that alone would make this whale one of the oldest mammals ever.
But researchers were curious about the species as a whole examine multiple other bold wale babies and found that most were between 135 in 170 years old when they die. One outlier made it to 211 years of age since it died in the 1990s which means it was born around the time Washington was president.
Because they live exclusively in cold Norton water and don’t have a lot of food to eat so they evolved to always keep thick and warm layers of fat-storing blubber on them. That plus the cold waters essentially forced the ways to grow slowly and not exert much energy equals incredibly long life.
The next time someone preaches about how great cold showers are I’m not being obnoxious or simply trying to help you live forever!
Tuatara
The 120-y old Tuatara is a rare species of New Zealand misery that typically lives to around 60 years of age. Study shows that tuatara was setting new standards both for the age of the species through its virality.
A tuatara named Henry has somehow doubled his life expectancy still kicking it at age 120 but he has lived so long as extra amazing considering he had cancer. In 2008 his family was discovered with malignant tumours around his genitals after they were removed and we were so happy. He decided to have children at age 111.
Henry was never the father in kind and not just due to his age. Until 2008 Henry has been aggressive and angry he even bit off the tail of a female named Mildred with his keepers wanted him to make way but with cancer gone Henry was a whole new blizzard. He and Mildred made up eleven babies. Henry is still alive healthy and judging by how he currently lives with at least three lady tuataras still he’s, our hero.
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