The oldest animals in the world. The oldest animal on earth

Original taken from masterok An autopsy showed that death was the result of an autopsy

That's what it is - SCIENCE.

Scientists have killed the oldest animal on Earth, trying to find out its age

Biologists from the UK and the US have determined the age of the oldest animal. The clam, found off the northern coast of Iceland in 2006, was 507 years old at the time of its death. The results of the study were published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, a brief description of the article by scientists is provided by ScienceNordic

several animals whose life spans exceeded 300 years, and one at 507 years old, which became the oldest non-colonial animal known to date whose age at death could be accurately determined, according to an article published by reviewers in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Until now, the oldest mollusk and the oldest animal in general, according to the Guinness book, was considered to be a 220-year-old bivalve mollusc, found in 1982. However, arctic shellfish have already surpassed them.

A team led by Paul Butler (Paul Butler) from the British University of Bangor discovered the Methuselah clam back in 2006 off the northern coast of Iceland. Scientists were collecting mollusks and their shells in order to study their structure, to restore, as if by the annual rings of trees, climatic changes over the past hundreds of years.

The scientists studied the bivalves Arctica islandica, known for their longevity. The growth of their shells depends on how favorable environmental conditions are and how much food is available, so the annual layers on them can tell about climate changes. As a result, scientists really managed to get a long series of data stretching 1.35 thousand years into the past, but in one case they were still wrong.

The annual layers on the shell are also visible from the outside, they are best counted in the area where the valves connect, so scientists had to open the shell and kill the mollusks. Determining the age of the mollusk that issued the number 061294, scientists came to the conclusion that he was 407 years old, and assigned him the name Ming in honor of the imperial Ming dynasty that reigned in China at the time of his birth.

However, they missed in determining the age by 100 years, the fact is that hundreds of annual rings must be counted in just a few millimeters of space. Now they have published updated data, the mollusk turned out to be 100 years older (although the years of his youth still fall on the Ming era). He was born around 1499 and was a contemporary of Christopher Columbus and Martin Luther.

We misjudged the age the first time, and maybe we were a bit hasty in publishing our data then (the first paper with the mis-estimation came out in 2008). But now we are absolutely sure that we determined the age correctly, Butler told ScienceNordic. ()

ICELAND CYPRINA (Arctica islandica) also known under the old name Cyprina islandica, is the only modern representative of the genus Arctica (Iiprin) (Arctica). This is a relatively warm-water North Atlantic mollusk that also lives in the western part of the Barents Sea and in the warmest parts of the White Sea. Cyprina has a rather large (up to 12 cm long) shell covered with a shiny brown periostracum. The castle is complex, with well-developed teeth. The mantle edge forms two short siphons, the openings of which are surrounded by delicate papillae. The leg is short but powerful; with its help, the animal quickly burrows into the ground.

Due to its confinement to relatively warm waters, cyprina is a good indicator of the distribution of warm Atlantic waters in the past. In the era of the warm Littorin Sea, the species was more widely distributed than now, and in the east it reached Taimyr. Many bottom-dwelling fish feed on young cyprines, and seabirds, such as the herring gull, feed on adults. She can’t crack a shell with her beak, so the gull, diving, takes out a shell and, taking off, drops it on coastal stones, on which even the largest and thickest shells break. After that, the seagull pecks the body of the mollusk without interference.

P.S. he lived for 500 years, sat under water, and then British scientists came and killed him :-(

Let's continue about centenarians already ...

And one more survivor:

A new study has found that the Red Sea sea urchin, a small, spiny invertebrate that lives in shallow coastal waters, is the longest-lived animal on Earth. They can live about 200 years or more, and die only from predators and diseases. They are not subject to aging and multiply at any age, and the older, the more active.

Marine zoologists at Oregon State University came to this conclusion in the course of research.

These invertebrate centenarians of the Red Sea were discovered due to the fact that one of the specimens caught was labeled from 1805 that "Lewis and Clark arrived in Oregon", and this sea urchin still had excellent health and even could breed. This discovery could have important implications for commercial fisheries management and our understanding of marine biology, as well as challenging some erroneous assumptions about the life cycle of this marine invertebrate.

Red Sea sea urchins were thought to live only about 15 years. But after the discovery of this specimen, more detailed studies were carried out, based on the use of two completely different methods for determining the age of sea urchins - one biochemical and the other isotopic. They showed identical results and significantly increased the age bar for these animals. Research shows that Red Sea sea urchins can have long lifespans, outstripping virtually any animal on the planet, and seem to show almost no signs of aging, or age-related dysfunction. One gets the feeling that they die only from external interference (when eaten by predators, from diseases or when fishing). Thus, if it were possible to create a favorable environment for sea urchins, eliminating predators and diseases, it is not even known how many hundreds of years they could live.

No animals other than these sea urchins have the ability to not age and actually be immortal. A detailed study of animal samples has shown that a 100-year-old sea urchin is just as healthy and capable of reproduction as a 10-year-old sea urchin.

Moreover, the more mature sea urchins of the Red Sea are even more prolific producers of seed and caviar. They don't have any periods of menopause.

These new data may open up many new insights into the ecology of marine animals. In particular, it now becomes clear why, in the 1960s in the US, sea urchins were seen as the scourge of the sea and as a real threat. They ate sea plants and algae, and multiplied unusually fast.

The formation of sea urchins from the larval stage to an adult passes in just a month. At the age of 2 years, the sea urchin grows in size twice - from 2 to 4 cm. The maximum size of the hedgehog reaches 6-7 years, but continues to grow by 0.1 cm even up to 22 years, when it reaches about 19 cm.

The bowhead whale is the oldest mammal on earth (211 years old)

Giant tortoise Aidvat (256 years old)

Koi Hanako (226 years old)

Guidak (168 years old) - more about them here - you probably think something obscene, ... and this is just a guidak!.

And now closer to the record holders:

Many people don't even realize that sponges are actually animals. Naturally, sponges are not very mobile creatures, and some of them move less than 1 millimeter per day, so it is not surprising that they grow very, very slowly, like many other animals on this list. It is their measured growth that ensures their longevity. There are five to ten thousand species of sponges in the world, and most of them live from 3 months to 20 years. However, the Antarctic sponge lives much longer, and one of the samples found by scientists lived a long life, namely 1,550 years.

Antarctic sponges and similar species grow very slowly and at very low temperatures in Antarctic waters. Estimates based on measuring the increase in growth over the course of one year give stunning results. A two-meter sponge living in the Ross Sea must be 23,000 years old!!! Although, if we take into account data on changes in sea level in those places, the age of the sponge cannot exceed 15,000 years. But this, you see, is a lot. Now for a moment imagine how many interesting things this sponge has seen in its lifetime.

The scolimaster sponge is a giant sponge that can reach an age of up to 10 thousand yearsT. Some scientists classify it in the genus Anoxycalyx in the class Glass sponges. The scolimastra sponge is the only known species of the genus Scolymastra.

The scolimaster sponge was discovered during the French Antarctic expedition in the years from 1908 to 1910 led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot. In 1916, the sponge was described by the French sponge specialist Emile Topsent. And it was named after Louis Joubin, a professor at the Zoological Museum of Paris.

It has the lowest metabolism among all species and low oxygen consumption. Adult sponges can reach up to 2 m and reach a diameter of up to 1.7 m. The color varies from pale yellow to white.

Distribution in Antarctic waters near the South Shetland Islands at a depth of 45 to 441 m. Due to the elongated crater appearance of the sponge, it is known in English as the volcano sponge.

1996 Thomas Brey and Susanne Gatti of the Bremerhuff North Star Expedition measured the age of a sponge based on oxygen consumption and found it to be 10,000 years old. This happened after the American scientist Paul Dayton (Paul Dayton) for ten years with difficulty found changes in the growth of this sponge.

The main enemies for the Scolimaster Sponge are Doris kerguelenensis snails and Acodontaster conspicuus starfish.

But an interesting fact came across to me while I was here looking for long-lived animals. Look!

Huge meadows of "sea grass" Posidonia, which, according to scientists from 80 to 200 thousand years, were discovered by biologists from Australia in the Mediterranean Sea. The world's longest-lived organism reproduces itself by cloning, as evidenced by the genetic identity of individuals that grow profusely miles apart on the sea floor.

At first glance, the seagrass of the Posidonia oceanica species, which is ordinary at first glance, is capable of producing offspring in several ways at once. “Reproduction in this plant occurs sexually, as usual, passing through the flowering stage with further mixing of male and female genomes, or asexual, that is, cloning, when the genome of an individual is passed on to the offspring without any noticeable changes,” said Dr. Sophie Arnod- Haond, researcher at the Marine Research Institute in France.

The DNA of the mysterious sea plant was studied in more detail by Carlos Duarti, a researcher from the University of Western Australia. Not far from the island of Formentera, a biologist came across a giant meadow of a grass-like sea plant that stretched for 15 kilometers, representing a single organism. He collected several samples of grass genetic material from 40 different locations during an expedition from Cyprus to Spain. DNA, as the analysis showed, was identical in all samples.

However, scientists are concerned that human activity could negatively affect the future of this long-lived herb. "Currently, strong changes are taking place at an unprecedented rate, and the decline in the population of Posidonia oceanica and other varieties of sea grasses raises doubts among researchers about the ability of these species and clones, which have passed a long and difficult path of selection, to survive," the authors noted.

The amazing hardiness of the seagrass cannot prevent its extinction, the researchers noted, since the water in the Mediterranean Sea is warming at a threefold rate, and this leads to the reduction of P. oceanica grass meadows by about 5% annually.

A little earlier, this was a shrub plant of the species Lomatia tasmanica, which also propagated by cloning. Paleontologists of the past found it in Tasmania back in the distant 30s. Later, fossilized leaves, approximately 43,600 years old, were found near one of the plants. Scientists have suggested that the modern shrub may be a clone of the one that once upon a time belonged to these very leaves.

Well, now probably the longest living organism or simply immortal :-)

Most likely, this point will not surprise many people, since over the past few years a lot has become known about the unusual capabilities of jellyfish. A species of jellyfish called Turritopsis nutricula does not have any particular appearance. Newborns are 1 mm long and are born with eight tentacles, while adults have 90 tentacles and are 4.5 mm long. These little jellyfish were originally from the Caribbean but can now be found all over the world.

However, everything is not as good as it might seem at first glance, because they can multiply and multiply. This makes them unique not only among jellyfish, but among all living creatures, as they can return to adolescence. These jellyfish are born and grow like any other animal, but when they reach a certain age, they can revert back to the polyp stage and begin to mature all over again. In human terms, it would be about as if a 50-year-old man returned to the state of a baby. It means that these jellyfish are potentially immortal.

Jellyfish Turritopsis Nutricula, which is considered the only immortal creature on the planet, was under the close supervision of scientists. Geneticists and marine biologists are actively studying the jellyfish to understand how it manages to reverse the aging process.

Jellyfish of this species are relatively small: only 4-5 mm in diameter. And unlike most jellyfish, which die after participating in the reproductive cycle, Turritopsis Nutricula returns to the juvenile stage after mating.

Having reached maturity, Turritopsis Nutricula can again turn into a young individual and is able to repeat this cycle indefinitely. These creatures, representing the class of hydrozoans, die only if they are eaten or killed. According to one hypothesis, the cells in the body of such jellyfish are transformed, transforming from one type to another.

Given that they do not die a natural death, Turritopsis Nutricula, under certain conditions, can, by multiplying too much, upset the balance of the world's oceans. Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama said in an interview with The Sun: "We are seeing a silent invasion of these jellyfish around the world." Initially, Turritopsis Nutricula jellyfish originate from the Caribbean region, however, they gradually penetrated into other geographical areas.

Mayflies only live for a day, humans can live for a century with luck, but what is the oldest living organism on the planet? For scientists, accurately determining the age of any long-lived species is a difficult task. For now, one thing is clear: trees can outlive animals, as some pines have been proven to live for over 5,000 years.

According to the BBC, a team of American researchers maintains a list, called the Old List or the Old List, which includes officially dated ancient trees. So, in Sri Lanka, a holy fig tree grows, whose age is at least 2222 years. In Chile, there is a Patagonian cypress tree that scientists estimate is 3,627 years old - almost as old as Stonehenge. The Methuselah pine tree in the California White Mountains is 4,850 years old. But the oldest tree on the list is an unnamed pine from the same area, 5,067 years old. This ancient tree survived the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. It grew already when the ancient Egyptians began to build pyramids.

But whether this 5,000-year-old pine tree is the oldest living thing on the planet is hard to say, because elsewhere, in Fishlake National Park in Utah, USA, there is an aspen tree that many people even find it difficult to call a tree. This so-called clonal tree is called "Pando", from the Latin for "I spread", and with good reason. It is so huge that it is easy to confuse it with a forest. However, Pando, despite being the size of the Vatican, originated from a single seed and over the years has grown into one huge massif with approximately 50,000 individual trunks. Scientists still cannot determine its exact age, since finding that very first tree is quite problematic.

Scientists are sure that there are no immortal living organisms. But there are complex vertebrate species that don't seem to age, like the Galápagos tortoise or the cave-dwelling salamander called the olm. The lifespan of organisms depends in part on their location in the world and their ecological niche. Organisms at the top of the food chain have very few predators, so they are likely to live longer and pass on this trait through generations. Cold weather also plays a role, with Antarctic glass sponges holding the title of "oldest living animal" with an estimated lifespan of 15,000 years. Of course, no one can determine their exact age, but these creatures grow very slowly due to the cold, which corresponds to the model of slow-growing creatures with a longer life cycle.

However, the oldest living organism whose age has been officially confirmed is the same Bristlecone 5-thousand-year-old pine, but no one can probably determine who is actually the oldest centenarian. Nature keeps its secrets.

1. Macaw parrot named Charlie. Charlie was born in 1899 and is 119 years old. Bird owner Peter Oram bought Charlie in 1965 for his pet shop. Later, Peter Oram took the bird home because Charlie behaved obscenely - he loved to swear. There is a version that in the 1930s Charlie belonged to Winston Churchill, and it was he who taught the parrot abuse. In 2004, Churchill's daughter denied this information: the British Prime Minister really owned a similar bird, but, according to her, not Charlie's parrot at all.

2. Giant sea sponge. This animal struck the researchers, first of all, with its size: 3.7 m long and 2.1 m wide. The sponge was found at a depth of 2,100 m in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It is not possible to estimate the exact age of the animal, but scientists believe that the giant is at least a thousand years old. Sea sponges have been living in these places for more than 2,300 years: perhaps our giant lived even then.

3. Lobster named George. In 2009, George was recognized as the oldest lobster in the world, at that time George was 140 years old. A huge lobster was caught at the end of 2008 in Canada. The lobster was first sold to a local restaurant, but PETA (the world's largest animal rights organization) intervened and demanded that George be returned to his natural habitat. After 10 days, a miracle happened, and George was released into the wild.

4. Nameless Greenland shark. To estimate the age of this and other sharks entangled in fishing nets, scientists used radiocarbon analysis in the tissues of the eye lens. It turned out that the Greenland shark born between 1501 and 1744. Even the lower bar of probable age - 274 years - suggests that we have the oldest vertebrate animal in the world.

5. Alligator Muja. The alligator arrived at the Serbian Zoo in 1937 as an adult male. According to experts, the age of the animal exceeds 80 years. During the Second World War, Belgrade experienced heavy air strikes, as a result of which almost all animals died zoo. But Muja seems to have been born in a shirt: the alligator survived the hard times and remained unscathed.

6. Giant turtle Jonathan. Researchers claim that the animal was born in 1832, although the average life expectancy of turtles is 150 years. 186-year-old male lives on Saint Helena from 1882, and the first photo of Jonathan dates from 1902. A funny story is associated with this turtle. In 1991, a female named Frederica was brought to the territory where Jonathan lives. For 25 years, attempts to mate these turtles have been noticed more than once, but Frederica did not lay eggs. Only a couple of years ago it turned out randomly that Frederica is a male.

7. Indian elephant Lin Wong. This animal can be found in the Guinness Book of Records: Lin Wong was recognized as the oldest elephant that ever lived on the planet. Unfortunately, Lin Wong will no longer be able to see with his own eyes: the elephant died in 2003 at the age of 86. However, in 2016, information appeared that it was time to give the palm to a new candidate. Another long-lived elephant Dakshayani is the property of the Indian religious community Travancore Devaswom Board. TDB employees applied to the Book of Records demanding that Dakshayani be recognized as the oldest elephant in the world, but did not provide any hard evidence.

8. Short-eared bat from Siberia. Brandt's long-lived bat was discovered in 1964. Then the scientists marked the bat and released it back into its natural habitat. But in 2005 the bat has been rediscovered researchers! The male surprised scientists very much: the fact is that bats live no more than 20 years.

9. Albatross Wisdom is the oldest bird in the world. The history of the albatross is similar to the fate of the Siberian bat. Wisdom was first found in 1956, when the bird was about 5-6 years old. In 2002, 46 years later, Wisdom was rediscovered by researchers. Scientists note that Wisdom is surprisingly prolific: the female managed to give birth to 39 cubs. Now the bird is about 67 years old.

10. Orca named Granny. granny born in 1911, it lives in the Pacific Ocean in natural conditions. The killer whale was first discovered in 1967 in Puget Bay, Washington. Since Granny was already out of childbearing age at that time, the animal was returned to its natural habitat. Granny does not have any markings, but it is easily identified by the characteristic scar on the fin. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that the killer whale has already died: Granny was last seen in October 2016.

Below is a list of the ten longest-lived animals on earth. If you know other long-lived animals or we made a mistake, be sure to let us know in the comments. So.

Depending on breed, management and environment, a modern domesticated horse has a lifespan of 25 to 30 years. Although a case related to the 19th century is known - the oldest horse named "Old Billy" ("Old Billy") died at the age of 62 years. And also a recent recorded example was the horse "Sugar Puff" ("Sugar Puff"), who died at the age of 57 years in 2007.

The Asian or Indian elephant is the second largest land animal after the bush elephant. Considered one of the most dangerous herbivores in the world. Their lifespan in the wild is on average 60 years, in captivity 80.

These rather large parrots, 30 to 70 cm long, live in Australia. They are considered the most fun and interesting parrots for indoor keeping. They become very attached to the person who cares for them and pays attention. Able to live in captivity for 60-80 years.

Tuatara is a reptile that lives on several small islands in New Zealand. The only modern representative of the ancient order of beakheads (died out about 65 million years ago). The body weight of the tuatara reaches 1.3 kg, and is 76 cm long. The average life expectancy in captivity is 60 years, but they can live 100, and according to some scientists in the wild, up to 200 years.

Koi carp are used for ornamental purposes in open ponds or water gardens. Very popular in East Asia, especially in Japan. Considered one of the most beautiful fish on the planet. They grow up to 90 cm or more, and their life expectancy is 100-200 years.

Fifth place in the list of ten centenarians among animals is occupied by the Red sea urchin - an animal that lives in shallow water in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California, usually near rocky shores. Their spherical body is completely covered with sharp spikes that can grow up to 8 cm. The average lifespan of the red sea urchin is over 30 years, but scientists have found a few specimens that are over 200 years old.

The Greenland shark is widely distributed in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Greenland and Iceland. It is believed that their life expectancy is more than 200 years, although it is difficult to give an exact figure. It is one of the creatures that is able to survive in extreme conditions.

The elephant tortoise is an endemic that lives only on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Known as the largest turtle in the world. Adults reach a weight of more than 400 kg and a length of more than 1.8 m. Although it is not known exactly, their average life expectancy, according to scientists, can reach more than 200 years. All captured individuals lived in captivity for at least 170 years.

The bowhead whale is a large mammal that lives in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whale can grow up to 20 m in length and weigh about 100 tons, this indicator is the second among animals after the blue whale. Average life expectancy is 60 to 70 years, like other whales. However, individual individuals, as studies have shown, are able to live for about 210 years.

Arctica islandica is a species of mollusk that lives in the northern part of the Atlantic and in the waters of the Arctic oceans. In 2007, studies conducted on several specimens of this mollusk found off the coast of Iceland showed that their age ranged from 405 to 410 years. This species was later confirmed to have a maximum lifespan of over 500 years, making it the longest-lived known animal on Earth.

From the moment an animal is conceived, its body grows and matures until it reaches its maximum "useful life". Fortunately for some organisms, their lifespan is much longer than that of other creatures.

The average age of people is about 70 years, but this is not the limit, because it is known for certain that there are animals that live on Earth much longer than us. Animals are usually more likely to live long lives in captivity, where they don't have to worry about predators or starvation and natural disasters. Although there are some creatures that survive well in the wild.

So who lives longer than the rest? Ahead of you is a list of the 25 most outstanding long-lived animals.

25. Tuatara lizard

Tuatars or tuatara (synonym) live only in New Zealand, and they grow very slowly. Most of these reptiles live to a respectable age of 60, although there are cases when such lizards lived as much as 200 years!

24. Domestic cat

Photo: Guiness Book of World Records

A domestic Siamese cat named Scooter was awarded the title of the oldest cat in the world by the Guinness Book of Records Commission. The pet deserved such an honor because he lived for 31 years. By the way, one of his older relatives lived for 26 years.

23. Dog


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

The oldest dog in the world was called Bluey. This dog was a member of the Australian Shepherd breed, and he died at the respectable age of 29 years. Recall that most dogs usually live from 8 to 15 years.

22. Man

Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

People are also part of the animal kingdom, so now you will meet a very old lady.

The oldest person in the world celebrated his 117th birthday this year, and it was, of course, the charming Emma Morano. The woman lived in Italy, and she was most likely the last living person who was born back in the 19th century. The long-liver left us quite recently - on April 15, 2017.

21. Horse

Photo: Twitter

A 51-year-old stallion named Shayne, from the English county of Essex, may be the oldest in the world. The animal is said to have inherited its longevity from the previous holder of this record. Despite arthritis, Shane is still doing great and is in no hurry to die.

20. Lobster


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Lobster Larry (Larry) was caught in 2016, and he was immediately sent to the Maine Aquarium (Maine) for further research. Judging by the large size of the cancer, this marine life may be the oldest lobster that was caught in the last 110 years. So far, scientists plan to either watch him again or let him go free, but Larry certainly does not threaten to become someone's dinner. Such an ancient lobster deserved a natural death.

19. Bowhead whale


Photo: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

In the Alaska region, sailors caught a bowhead whale, in the neck of which something very interesting was found. A piece of a harpoon, taken from the carcass of a sea giant, appeared there clearly more than 100 years ago. The gun fragment dates back to around the 1880s, which means this one has been around since the American Civil War and survived the Victorian era. The animal is probably about 130 years old, and some experts even believe that bowhead whales can live up to 200 years.

18. Tiger


Photo: Pixabay.com

The world's oldest tiger was named Flavio. He was a circus beast, and then in his old age he ended up in the Florida Zoo, where he died at the age of 25.

17. Koi fish


Photo: Pixabay.com

Koi fish named Hanako lived in Japan. She was recognized as the oldest representative of her species, having lived to an incredible age of 226 years! Typically, Koi fish live for about 50 years. No one can understand exactly how Hanako managed to reach such a venerable age.

16. Greenland polar shark


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Greenland sharks live quite a long time, and in theory they could be the longest living vertebrates in the world. For example, once fishermen caught a shark that was at least 400 years old! However, the method of age estimation common today is still not entirely accurate, and therefore some experts believe that a captured marine predator may be a much more ancient creature.

15. Goldfish


Photo: Twitter

The oldest goldfish in the world was 43 years old, and this was even confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records Commission.

14. Elephant


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

The oldest elephant ever to live in captivity lived to a respectable age of 86. The animal spent its last years in the capital zoo of Taiwan, but once upon a time it helped Japanese soldiers transport supplies through the jungles of Myanmar (Myanmar), and in 1943 the giant was even captured by the Chinese. Did you know that the average lifespan of Asian elephants is 60 years?

13. Leo


Photo: Daughter#3

A lion named Arjun was born in captivity, and now the 26-year-old animal is considered the oldest representative of its kind. Most lions live up to 18-20 years in captivity and up to 12-16 years in the wild.

12. Giant (giant, Seychelles) turtle


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Meet Jonathan, and it was he who received the title of the oldest giant tortoise in the world. The male is already 182 years old, and now he lives in the Seychelles. Jonathan is a rare old man, but some experts believe that giant tortoises can live up to 250 years.

11. Bear


Photo: Marshmallow

The oldest wild bear lived in the area of ​​the American city of Grand Rapids, Minnesota (Grand Rapids, Minnesota), and this animal died at the age of 39 years. Employees of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources long ago attached a collar with a tracker to this outstanding female to track her movements. The female bear, listed as Bear number 56, died of natural causes.

10. Orangutan


Photo: Julielangford

Puan is the oldest female orangutan known to science and is now 60 years old. The monkey lives in the Australian zoo Perth (Perth Zoo).

9. American alligator

Photo: Postdlf / wikipedia

Muja is the oldest alligator living in captivity. He even survived the bombing of Belgrade during World War II. Its exact age is unknown, but zoologists believe that this crocodile is almost 90 years old.

8 Common Flamingo


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

The oldest flamingo in the world died at the age of 83, and this bird lived in the Adelaide Zoo (Adelaide, an Australian city).

7. Clam Ming


Photos: Alan D Wanamaker Jr1, Jan Heinemeier James D Scourse Christopher A Richardson1 Paul G Butler Jón Eiríksson Karen Luise Knudsen

Mollusk Ming was born in 1499 ... It was discovered and studied by researchers at Bangor University (Bangor University, UK). Radiocarbon analysis showed that the incredible find was as much as 507 years old!

6 Black Rhino


Photo: Charlesjsharp

The world's oldest black rhinoceros lived at the San Francisco Zoo. The female was named Elly and she lived a long life, passing away at the age of 46.

5. Bat


Photo: Anton 17

The longest living bat lived in Siberia and she died at the age of 41. The nocturnal animal lived 9.8 times longer than other representatives of this species usually live.

4. Killer whale


Photo: Minette Layne / Seattle, Washington, USA

This killer whale was called Jay-Too (J2) or Granny (Granny, grandmother), and became the oldest representative of her species, having lived to be 100 years old. Many female killer whales do not usually survive childbirth, but this is clearly not about J-Too. By studying Granny, scientists managed to learn a lot of new things. For example, for almost the first time, they were able to observe how adult and elderly whales take care of their young.

3. Medusa


Photo: Pixabay.com

Imagine the ability to age in reverse (or younger). It is this superpower that jellyfish of the species Turritopsis dohrnii (“immortal jellyfish” from Latin) possess. They usually reproduce using sperm and eggs, but during adverse conditions they can “roll back” the age of their cells (invert the life cycle) to a younger state (before the polyp stage) and proceed to asexual reproduction, producing their own carbon copies. Theoretically, such jellyfish can live hundreds of thousands of years ...