Microorganisms 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. These are slowly metabolizing and not in a dormant state. Some
Actinomycetota found in
Siberia are estimated to be half a million years old. In July 2020,
marine biologists reported that
aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in "
quasi-suspended animation", were found in
organically poor sediments 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, 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.
Clonal plant and fungal colonies 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. • 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. • The sole surviving clonal colony of the shrub
Lomatia tasmanica in
Tasmania is estimated to be at least 43,600 years old. • 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. •
Eucalyptus recurva clones in Australia have been claimed to be 13,000 years old. • A
box huckleberry bush in
Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States, is thought to be around 13,000 years old. If true, it would predate human settlements in the area. •
King Clone is an individual creosote bush (
Larrea tridentata) in the
Mojave Desert of southern California, United States, estimated at 11,700 years old. 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. •
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 in height. •
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. 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. Apart from its extreme age, it is also thought to be the world's
largest organism by area, at . • A huge colony of the sea grass
Posidonia australis in the
Australian coast over
Shark Bay is estimated to be over 4,500 years old and also the world's
largest known plant.
Individual plant specimens •
Methuselah, a
Great Basin bristlecone pine (
Pinus longaeva) in the
White Mountains of California, has been measured by
ring count to be years old. It is therefore the oldest known living individual non-clonal tree in the world. • A specimen of
Fitzroya cupressoides in
Chile was measured by ring count as years old, meaning this species has the second-oldest verified age of any non-clonal tree species. • The
Cypress of Abarkuh, a
Mediterranean cypress (
Cupressus sempervirens) in
Iran, is estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. may be the oldest tree in Europe. • The
Llangernyw Yew, an ancient
yew (
Taxus baccata) in the churchyard of the village of
Llangernyw in
North Wales, is believed to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. •
The President, located in
Sequoia National Park, California, is the oldest known living
giant sequoia (
Sequoiadendron giganteum) at approximately 3,200 years of age. •
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 in altitude. Some yaretas may be up to 3,000 years old. • 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. • A
sacred fig (
Ficus religiosa), the
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in
Anuradhapura,
Sri Lanka, is years old, having been planted in 288 BC. It is the oldest known living human-planted tree in the world. • The
Great sugi of Kayano, the
cryptomeria deemed planted by humans in
Kaga,
Ishikawa, Japan, had an estimated age of 2,300 years in 1928. •
Jōmon Sugi, the cryptomeria naturally grown in
Yakushima Island,
Kagoshima,
Japan, is 2,170 to 7,200 years old. • A specimen of
Lagarostrobos franklinii in
Tasmania is thought to be about 2,000 years old. • 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. • Numerous
olive trees are purported to be 2,000 years old or older. An
olive tree in Ano Vouves,
Crete, claiming such longevity, has been confirmed based on
tree-ring analysis.
Stara Maslina (Old Olive Tree) near
Stari Bar in
Montenegro, is estimated to be over 2,200 years old. •
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. •
Old Tjikko, the world's oldest known
Norway spruce in Sweden, continues via
vegetative cloning. Although its trunk may be only a few centuries old, its root system is estimated to be years old.
Aquatic animals •
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. • 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. can live more than 2,000 years. • 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. • The black coral
Antipatharia in the Gulf of Mexico may live more than 2,000 years. • 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. • A specimen, "
Ming" of the Icelandic cyprine
Arctica islandica (also known as an ocean quahog), a
mollusk, was found to have lived 507 years. Another specimen had a recorded lifespan of 374 years. • 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. s, which may live upwards of 500 years, are the longest living vertebrates • The
Greenland shark had been estimated to live to about 200 years, but a study published in 2016 found that a specimen was between 272 and 512 years old. That makes the Greenland shark the longest-lived vertebrate. • The maximum lifespan of the
freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) may be 210–250 years. • Some confirmed sources estimate
bowhead whales to have lived at least 211 years of age, making them the oldest
mammals. •
Rougheye rockfish can reach an age of 205 years. • Specimens of the Red Sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus franciscanus have been found to be over 200 years old. • 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. • The deepsea hydrocarbon seep tubeworm
Lamellibrachia luymesi (
Annelida,
Polychaeta) lives for more than 170 years. •
Geoduck, a species of saltwater
clam native to the
Puget Sound, have been known to live more than 160 years. • A Swedish man claimed that a
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. •
Orange roughy, also known as deep sea perch, can live up to 149 years. •
George the lobster (an American lobster,
Homarus americanus) was estimated to be about 140 years old by
PETA in January 2009. • 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. • In 2012, a
sturgeon estimated to be 125 years old was caught in a river in
Wisconsin. •
Tardigrades, capable of
cryptobiosis, have been shown to survive nearly 120 years in a dry state. • The
great white shark is estimated to live for 70+ years, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fishes currently known. • 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. • A
goldfish named Tish lived for 43 years after being won at a fairground in 1956. • A koi fish named
Hanako reportedly died at 226 years old in 1977, making her the longest-lived koi fish ever recorded. However, there is uncertainty as to the veracity of her longevity, with
Snopes reporting that no conclusive evidence of her age could be found. • 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.
Humans , the oldest human in history for which there is reliable documentation, lived to be 122 Humans are among the longest living land mammals. •
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. •
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 (born 21 August 1909). These are single exceptional examples; for a broader view, see
life expectancy.
Other terrestrial and pagophilic animals in 2021 •
Adwaita, an
Aldabra giant tortoise, died at an estimated age of 255 in March 2006 in
Zoological Garden, Alipore,
Kolkata,
India. If confirmed, the tortoise would have been the oldest known terrestrial animal to have ever existed. •
Jonathan, a
Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of
Saint Helena, is reported to be at least 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. •
Tu'i Malila, a
radiated tortoise, died at the age of 188 in May 1966, at the time the oldest verified vertebrate. This tortoise was hatched in 1777. •
Harriet, a
Galápagos tortoise, died at the age of 175 in June 2006. •
Timothy, a
Greek tortoise, born in Turkey died at the age of 165 on 3 April 2004 in the UK. • The oldest known bird in the world was an Australian
sulphur-crested cockatoo called
Cocky Bennett, who lived to 120. 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. •
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. 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, surpassing the previous record of 84. Normally, elephants live up to 50 years, while their maximum lifespan is generally estimated at 70. • Hakuna, an
African slender-snouted crocodile, was gifted to
Blijdorp Zoo in
Rotterdam,
Netherlands, in 1929 by singer and dancer
Josephine Baker, He lived there for 85 years until he died on 19 February 2015. • 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. • A
greater flamingo named
Greater died at
Adelaide Zoo in January 2014 at the age of at least 83. •
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. •
Muja, an
American alligator at
Belgrade Zoo, is considered the oldest alligator in the world. Muja is more than 80 years old. • Thaao, an
Andean condor born , died at the age of 79 or 80 in 2010. •
Fatou, a gorilla at the
Berlin Zoo is the oldest gorilla ever at the age of 68. • A female
Laysan albatross named
Wisdom successfully laid an egg at
Midway Atoll in December 2024, at the age of 74. As of 2025, she is the oldest known wild bird in the world. • Bella, a
Sumatran orangutan at
Tierpark Hagenbeck, is the oldest orangutan ever at the age of 64. • 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. • 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. • The oldest
bear on record was Andreas, a
European brown bear, living in the
ARCTUROS bear sanctuary in northern
Greece. He was at least 50 years old at the time of his death. • On May 27, 1983, a
splendor beetle emerged from a staircase in
Essex,
UK, after at least 47 years as a
larva. • 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. • The oldest living
spider, named
Number 16 by researchers, was a 43-year-old female
Gaius villosus armored trapdoor spider, at the North
Bungulla Reserve,
Tammin,
Western Australia. •
Debby, the polar bear, an inhabitant of the
Assiniboine Park Zoo in
Winnipeg, Canada, was the oldest
polar bear and third-oldest bear species on record when she died in 2008, at the age of 42. • The oldest recorded bat, a
Siberian bat (previously identified as a
Brandt's bat), was at least 41 years old at the time of capture. •
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. •
Bluey, an
Australian Cattle Dog who was the
longest-lived dog ever verified, reached 29 years and died in 1939. • 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. • A wild
rabbit named Flopsy was caught on August 6, 1964, and died 18 years and 10 months later in
Tasmania, Australia • 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. • 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. • A
hamster owned by Karen Smeaton in
Tyne & Wear,
UK, reached 4 years and 6 months. ==See also==