This is a list of the longest-living biological organisms: the individuals or clones of a species with the longest natural maximum life spans. For a given species, such a designation may include:
The oldest known individual(s) that are currently alive, with verified ages.
Verified individual record holders, such as the longest-lived human, Jeanne Calment, or the longest-lived domestic cat, Creme Puff.
The definition of "longest-living" used in this article considers only the observed or estimated length of an individual organism's natural lifespan – that is, the duration of time between its birth or conception (or the earliest emergence of its identity as an individual organism) and its death – and does not consider other conceivable interpretations of "longest-living", such as the length of time between the earliest appearance of a species in the fossil record and the present day (the historical "age" of the species as a whole) or the time between a species' first speciation and its extinction (the phylogenetic "lifespan" of the species). This list includes long-lived organisms that are currently still alive as well as those that have already died.
Determining the length of an organism's natural lifespan is complicated by many problems of definition and interpretation, as well as by practical difficulties in reliably measuring age, particularly for extremely old organisms and for those that reproduce by asexual reproduction or cloning. In many cases the ages listed below are estimates based on observed present-day growth rates, which may differ significantly from the growth rates experienced thousands of years ago. Identifying the longest-living organisms also depends on defining what constitutes an "individual" organism, which can be problematic, since many asexual organisms and clonal colonies defy one or both of the traditional colloquial definitions of individuality (having a distinct genotype, and having an independent, physically separate body). Additionally, some organisms maintain the capability to reproduce through very long periods of metabolic dormancy, during which they may not be considered "alive" by certain definitions but nonetheless can resume normal metabolism afterward; it is unclear whether the dormant periods should be counted as part of the organism's lifespan.
If the mortality rate of a species does not increase after maturity, the species does not age and is said to be biologically immortal. There are numerous plants and animals for which the mortality rate has been observed to actually decrease with age, for all or part of the life cycle.[1] Specimens of the cnidarian genus Hydra were observed for four years without any increase in mortality rate.[2] If the mortality rate remains constant, the rate determines the mean lifespan. The lifespan may be long or short, though the species technically does not "age" in the biological sense.
Individuals of other species have been observed to regress to a larval state and regrow into adults multiple times. The hydrozoan species Turritopsis dohrnii (formerly Turritopsis nutricula) is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again. This means no natural limit to its lifespan is known.[3] No single specimen has been observed for any extended period, however, and estimating the age of a specimen is not possible by any known means. At least one other hydrozoan (Laodicea undulata[4]), one scyphozoan (Aurelia sp. 1[5]) and one tentaculata (Mnemiopsis leiydi[6][7]) can also revert from a medusa stage into a polyp stage.
Similarly, the larvae of skin beetles undergo a degree of "reversed development" when starved, and later grow back to the previously attained level of maturity. This cycle can be repeated many times. However, repeated cycles result in physiological deterioration, suggesting that these beetle larvae still age.[8]
Revival after dormancy
If the definition of lifespan does not exclude time spent in metabolically inactive states, many organisms may be said to have lifespans that are millions of years in length. Various claims have been made about reviving bacterial spores to active metabolism after millions of years of dormancy. Spores preserved in amber have been revived after 40 million years,[9] and spores from salt deposits in the Salado Formation of New Mexico have been revived after 250 million years, making these bacteria by far the longest-living organisms ever recorded.[10] Similarly, in May 2022 prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were found in crystals of halite; these could be over 800 million years old but it remains uncertain if they are alive or if they could be revived.[11][12] In a related find, a scientist was able to coax 34,000-year-old salt-captured bacteria to reproduce. These results were subsequently duplicated independently.[13]
In July 2018, scientists from four Russian institutions collaborating with Princeton University reported that they had analyzed about 300 prehistoric nematode worms recovered from permafrost above the Arctic Circle in the Sakha Republic, and that after being thawed, two of the nematodes revived and began moving and eating. One found in a Pleistocene squirrel burrow in the Duvanny Yar outcrop on the Kolyma River was believed to be about 32,000 years old, while the other, recovered in 2015 near the Alazeya River, was dated at approximately 30,000–40,000 years old. These nematodes were believed to be the oldest living non-clonal multicellular organisms on Earth.[14][15] In 2021, biologists reported the restoration of bdelloid rotifers frozen for 24,000 years in the Siberianpermafrost.[16][17] In 2023, it was reported that nematodes of the previously undescribed Panagrolaimus kolymaensis were revived after 46,000 years in cryptobiosis.[18]
Like bacterial spores, plant seeds are often capable of germinating after very long periods of metabolic inactivity. A seed from the previously extinct Judean date palm was revived and managed to sprout after nearly 2,000 years. Named "Methuselah", it is currently growing at Kibbutz Ketura, Israel.[19] Similarly, the flowering plant Silene stenophylla was grown from frozen fruit found in an ancient squirrel's cache. The germinated plants bore viable seeds. The fruit was dated at 31,800 ± 300 years old.[20] In 1994, a seed from a sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), dated at roughly 1,300 ± 270 years old, was successfully germinated.[21][22] In 2024, a never-before-seen species of Commiphora was grown from a successfully germinated seed that is estimated to be 1,000 years old.[23]
Some endoliths have extremely long lives. In August 2013, researchers reported evidence of endoliths in the ocean floor, perhaps millions of years old, with a generation time of 10,000 years.[28] These are slowly metabolizing and not in a dormant state. Some Actinomycetota found in Siberia are estimated to be half a million years old.[29][30][31] In July 2020, marine biologists reported that aerobicmicroorganisms (mainly), in "quasi-suspended animation", were found in organically poor sediments68.9 metres (226 feet) below the seafloor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"). The sediments had been dated by previous research using cobalt-based techniques to 4.3 to 101.5 million years old, which would make them the longest-living life forms ever found,[32][33] yet in October 2024, scientists reported aerobic microorganisms in a two billion-year-old rock drilled from 15 meters underground within a formation known as the Bushveld Igneous Complex in northeastern South Africa, though the age of the microorganisms is unknown.[34][35]
Clonal plant and fungal colonies
Pando is a clonal colony of quaking aspens that is several thousand years old.
As with all long-lived plant and fungal species, no individual part of a clonal colony is alive (in the sense of active metabolism) for more than a very small fraction of the life of the entire colony. Some clonal colonies may be fully connected via their root systems, while most are not interconnected but are nonetheless genetically identical clones that populated an area through vegetative reproduction. Ages for clonal colonies are estimates, often based on current growth rates.[36]
A huge colony of the sea grass Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean Sea near Ibiza, Spain, is estimated to be between 12,000 and 200,000 years old. The maximum age is theoretical, as the region it now occupies was dry land at some point between 10,000 and 80,000 years ago.[37][38][39]
The sole surviving clonal colony of the shrub Lomatia tasmanica in Tasmania is estimated to be at least 43,600 years old.[40]
The Jurupa Oak colony in Riverside County, California, United States, is estimated to be at least 13,000 years old. Other estimates place it at 5,000 to 30,000 years old.[41]
King Clone is an individual creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in the Mojave Desert of southern California, United States, estimated at 11,700 years old.[44] Another creosote bush has been said to be 12,150 years old, but this is as yet unconfirmed.
A Huon pine colony on Mount Read, Tasmania, is estimated at 10,000 years old, with individual specimens living over 3,000 years.[45]
Old Tjikko, a Norway spruce tree in the county of Dalarna, Sweden, is living on top of roots that have been radiocarbon-dated to 9,550 years old. The tree is part of a clonal colony that was established at the end of the last ice age. Discovered by Professor Leif Kullman of Umeå University, Old Tjikko is small, only 5m (16ft) in height.[46][47][48][49]
Pando is a clonal colony of Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) trees in south-central Utah, United States, that is estimated to be several thousand years old, possibly as much as 14,000 years.[50] Unlike many other clonal "colonies", Pando's above-ground tree trunks remain connected to each other by a single massive subterranean root system.
"Humongous Fungus", an individual of the clonal subterranean fungal species Armillaria solidipes in Oregon's Malheur National Forest, is thought to be between 2,000 and 8,500 years old.[51][52] Apart from its extreme age, it is also thought to be the world's largest organism by area, at 2,384 acres (965 hectares).
A specimen of Fitzroya cupressoides in Chile was measured by ring count as 3,654 years old, meaning this species has the second-oldest verified age of any non-clonal tree species.[56][57]
Yareta is a tiny flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to South America, occurring in the Puna grasslands of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, and western Argentina between 3,200 and 4,500 metres (10,500 and 14,800ft) in altitude. Some yaretas may be up to 3,000 years old.[59]
A Panke baobab (Adansonia digitata) in Zimbabwe was some 2,450 years old when it died in 2011, making it the oldest angiosperm ever documented, and two other trees of the same species – Dorslandboom in Namibia and Glencoe in South Africa – were estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old.[60]
The Fortingall Yew, an ancient yew (Taxus baccata) in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland, is one of the oldest known individual trees in Europe. Various estimates have put its age between 2,000 and 5,000 years, although it is now believed to be at the lower end of this range.
Tāne Mahuta, a kauri tree (Agathis australis) in New Zealand, is believed to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old. It is the oldest and largest standing kauri tree at present.
Welwitschia is a monotypic genus of gymnosperm plant, composed solely of the distinct Welwitschia mirabilis. The plant is considered a living fossil. Radiocarbon dating has confirmed that many individuals have lived longer than 1,000 years, and some are suspected to be older than 2,000 years.[citation needed]
Glass sponges found in the East China Sea and Southern Ocean have been estimated to be more than 10,000 years old. Although this may be an overestimate, this is likely the longest lived animal on Earth.[70][71][72]
Specimens of the black coral genus Leiopathes, such as Leiopathes glaberrima, are among the oldest continuously living organisms on the planet: around 4,265 years old.[73]
The giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta is one of the longest-lived animals, with the largest specimens in the Caribbean estimated to be more than 2,300 years old.[74]
The black coral Antipatharia in the Gulf of Mexico may live more than 2,000 years.[75]
The Antarctic sponge Cinachyra antarctica has an extremely slow growth rate in the low temperatures of the Southern Ocean. One specimen has been estimated to be 1,550 years old.[76]
A specimen, "Ming" of the Icelandic cyprine Arctica islandica (also known as an ocean quahog), a mollusk, was found to have lived 507 years.[77] Another specimen had a recorded lifespan of 374 years.[78]
The tubeworm Escarpia laminata that lives in deep sea cold seeps regularly reaches the age of between 100 and 200 years, with some individuals determined to be more than 300 years old. Some may live for over 1,000 years.[79][80]
The Greenland shark had been estimated to live to about 200 years, but a study published in 2016 found that a 5.02m (16.5ft) specimen was between 272 and 512 years old.[81][82] That makes the Greenland shark the longest-lived vertebrate.[83]
Many sub-families of the marine fish Oreosomatidae, including the Allocyttus, Neocyttus, and Pseudocyttus (collectively referred to as the Oreos) have been reported to live up to 170 years, based on otolith-increment estimates and radiometric dating.[90][91][92]
A Swedish man claimed that an European eel named Åle was 155 years old when it died in 2014. If correct, it would have been the world's oldest, having been hatched in 1859.[96]
Orange roughy, also known as deep sea perch, can live up to 149 years.[97]
The bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus), a freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae, has a maximum longevity of at least 127 years based on otolith annulus counts and bomb radiocarbon dating.[99][100]
In 2012, a sturgeon estimated to be 125 years old was caught in a river in Wisconsin.[101]
The great white shark is estimated to live for 70+ years, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fishes currently known.[103]
An orca of the Southern Resident population identified as J2 or Granny was estimated by some researchers to have been approximately 105 years old at her death in 2017; however, other dating methods estimated her age as 65–80.[104][105]
A goldfish named Tish lived for 43 years after being won at a fairground in 1956.[106]
A koi fish named Hanako reportedly died at 226 years old in 1977, making her the longest-lived koi fish ever recorded.[107] However, there is uncertainty as to the veracity of her longevity, with Snopes reporting that no conclusive evidence of her age could be found.[108]
A lungfish named Methuselah was determined to be between 92 and 101 years old in 2023, making her the oldest living fish in captivity at the time.[109]
World map of the life expectancy at birth for humans in 2023 (UN estimate, smooth palette)
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Humans are among the longest living land mammals.[111]
Jeanne Calment, a French woman, lived to the age of 122 years and 164 days, making her the oldest fully documented human who has ever lived. She died on August 4, 1997.[112]
Jiroemon Kimura, a Japanese man, died on 12 June 2013 at the age of 116 years and 54 days. He holds the record for the oldest ever male human.
The oldest known person alive today is Ethel Caterham, a British woman, at age 116years, 30days (born 21 August 1909).
These are single examples; for a broader view, see life expectancy (includes humans).
Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of Saint Helena, is reported to be at least 192 years old, hence the oldest currently living terrestrial animal. If Adwaita's claim is not true, Jonathan might be the oldest known terrestrial animal to have ever existed.[114]
Tu'i Malila, a radiated tortoise, died at the age of 188 in May 1966, at the time the oldest verified vertebrate.[115] This tortoise was hatched in 1777.
The oldest known bird in the world was an Australian sulphur-crested cockatoo called Cocky Bennett, who lived to 120.[118] He could recall phrases such as "one feather more and I'll fly" and "one at a time, gentlemen, please". He lived from 1796 to 1916 and traveled the world with various owners.
The tuatara, a lizard-like reptile native to New Zealand, can live well over 100 years. Henry, a tuatara at the Southland Museum in New Zealand, mated for the first time at the estimated age of 111 years in 2009 with an 80-year-old female and fathered 11 baby tuatara.[119]
Dakshayani, a female Asian elephant, initially owned by the Travancore royal family and later by the Travancore Devaswom Board, was 88 or 89 years old when she died on February 5, 2019.[120] She is believed to be the oldest elephant in captivity in Asia and was nicknamed Gaja Muthassi (grandmother of elephants).
Lin Wang, an Asian elephant, was the oldest elephant in the Taipei Zoo. He was born on January 18, 1917, and died on February 26, 2003, at 86 years,[121] surpassing the previous record of 84. Normally, elephants live up to 50 years, while their maximum lifespan is generally estimated at 70.
Henry, a Nile crocodile currently living in the Crocworld Conservation Centre of Scottburgh, South Africa is reported to be 123–124 years old, making him the oldest crocodile in captivity. He is also notable for fathering 10,000 offspring with 6 different mates and for meeting TV host, Robert Alleva.[123][124]
Cookie (June 30, 1933 – August 27, 2016), an Australian-born Major Mitchell's cockatoo at Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, was the oldest member of his species in captivity, and died in August 2016 at a verified age of 83.[126]
Thaao, an Andean condor born c.1930, died at the age of 79 or 80 in 2010.[129]
Fatou, a gorilla at the Berlin Zoo is the oldest gorilla ever at the age of 67.[130]
A female Laysan albatross named Wisdom successfully laid an egg at Midway Atoll in December 2016, at the age of 66. As of 2017, she is the oldest known wild bird in the world.[131]
The oldest living horse on record, Ol' Billy, was allegedly born in the year 1760 in London, England. Bill died in 1822 at the age of 62. Henry Harrison, a resident of London during the time, had also allegedly known Ol' Billy for 59 years until Bill's death.[132]
Rod, an Egyptian vulture who lived at the Jurong Bird Park from 1971 to his death in 2022. Estimated to be 60 prior to his euthanasia, he may have been the oldest known individual of his species.[133]
Nonja, a Sumatran orangutan, died at the age of 55 in December 2007. She was claimed to be the oldest-living orangutan of her species.[134]
The oldest bear on record was Andreas, a European brown bear, living in the ARCTUROS bear sanctuary in northern Greece.[135] He was at least 50 years old at the time of his death.
A wild-born black rhino named Elly was the oldest in North America at an estimated 45 years of age, and resided in California's San Francisco Zoo from April 1974 until passing in May 2017.[137]
The oldest recorded bat, a Siberian bat[140] (previously identified as a Brandt's bat), was at least 41 years old at the time of capture.[141]
Creme Puff, a cat owned by Jake Perry of Austin, Texas, was born on August 3, 1967, and died three days after her 38th birthday on August 6, 2005.[142]
The oldest goat was McGinty who lived to the age of 22 years and 5 months until her death in November 2003 on Hayling Island, UK.[144]
A wild rabbit named Flopsy was caught on August 6, 1964, and died 18 years and 10 months later in Tasmania, Australia[144]
A bearded dragon owned by Nik Vernon was 16 years 129 days old when he died on December 2, 2013.[145]
A mouse named Patrick Stewart (in tribute to the actor) has been verified by Guinness World Records as the oldest living mouse in human care as well as the oldest mouse ever, aged 9 years 210 days as of 9 February 2023.[146]
The oldest gerbil was a Mongolian gerbil named Sahara, she was born in May 1973 and died on 4 October 1981 aged 8 years and 4 months.[147]
↑ Shatilovich, A. V.; Tchesunov, A. V.; Neretina, T. V.; Grabarnik, I. P.; Gubin, S. V.; Vishnivetskaya, T. A.; Onstott, T. C.; Rivkina, E. M. (2018-05-01). "Viable Nematodes from Late Pleistocene Permafrost of the Kolyma River Lowland". Doklady Biological Sciences. 480 (1): 100–102. doi:10.1134/S0012496618030079. ISSN1608-3105. PMID30009350. S2CID49743808.
↑ Shen-Miller; Mudgett, M. B.; William Schopf, J.; Clarke, S.; Berger, R. (1995). "Exceptional seed longevity and robust growth: Ancient sacred lotus from China". American Journal of Botany. 82 (11): 1367–1380. doi:10.2307/2445863. JSTOR2445863.
↑ Rackham, Oliver; Moody, J (1996). The Making of the Cretan Landscape.
↑ Riley, FR (2002). "Olive Oil Production on Bronze Age Crete: Nutritional properties, Processing methods, and Storage life of Minoan olive oil". Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 21 (1): 63–75. doi:10.1111/1468-0092.00149.
↑ Butler, Paul; AD Wanamaker; JD Scourse; CA Richardson; DJ Reynolds (2012). "Variability of marine climate on the North Icelandic Shelf in a 1357-year proxy archive based on growth increments in the bivalve Arctica islandica". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 373: 141–151. Bibcode:2013PPP...373..141B. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.01.016.
↑ Schöne; Fiebig, J; Pfeiffer, M; Gleb, R; Hickson, J; Johnson, A; Dreyer, W; Oschmann, W (2005). "Climate records from a bivalved Methuselah". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 228 (1–2): 130–148. Bibcode:2005PPP...228..130S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.03.049.
↑ Ziuganov, V., San Miguel, E., Neves, R.J., Longa, A., Fernandez, C., Amaro, R., Beletsky, V., Popkovitch, E., Kaliuzhin, S., Johnson, T. (2000). "Life span variation of the freshwater pearlshell: a model species for testing longevity mechanisms in animals". Ambio. XXIX (2): 102–105. Bibcode:2000Ambio..29..102Z. doi:10.1579/0044-7447-29.2.102. S2CID86366534.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Зюганов В.В. (2004). "Арктические долгоживущие и южные короткоживущие моллюски жемчужницы как модель для изучения основ долголетия". Успехи геронтол. 14: 21–31.
↑ Cailliet, G.M.; Andrews, A.H.; Burton, E.J.; Watters, D.L.; Kline, D.E.; Ferry-Graham, L.A. (2001). "Age determination and validation studies of marine fishes: do deep-dwellers live longer?". Exp. Gerontol. 36 (4–6): 739–764. doi:10.1016/S0531-5565(00)00239-4. PMID11295512. S2CID42894988.
↑ Ebert, TA; Southon, JR (2003). "Red sea urchins can live over 100 years: confirmation with A-bomb 14carbon– Strongylocentrotus franciscanus". Fishery Bulletin. 101 (4): 915–922.
↑ Guinness World Records 2010. Bantam; Reprint edition. 2010. p.320. ISBN978-0-553-59337-2. The oldest cat ever was Creme Puff, who was born on August 3, 1967 and lived until August 6, 2005 – 38 years and 3 days in total.
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