List of long-living organisms

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

This is a list of the oldest individual lifeforms. This is usually defined as:

• Having a longer life span than any other known individual (such as the Methuselah tree)
• Longevity record-holders (such as Jeanne Calment)

Zero or negligible senescence

Senescence is the change in the biology of an organism, as it ages after its maturity. If the mortality rate of a species does not increase after maturity, the species does not age. There are many examples of plants and animals for which the mortality rate actually decreases with age, for all or part of the life cycle.^{[citation needed]} Coral colonies and aspen trees are the clearest examples.^{[citation needed]} Some large trees may routinely grow in size for decades, while their mortality rates decrease.^{[citation needed]} Some sources say that sharks, too, grow larger in size while their mortality rate decreases, for long periods of their lives.^{[citation needed]}

If the mortality rate remains constant, the rate determines the mean lifespan. The lifespan can be long or short, even though the species technically "does not age". There are many examples of species for which scientists have not detected an increase in mortality rate after maturity.^{[citation needed]} An alternative explanation for this phenomenon may be that the mean lifespan of the species is so long that the modern scientific study of longevity and senescence has not yet matured enough itself to measure longevity in the species.

• Sanicula is a shrub, native to Europe and the Americas, which lives about 70 years in the wild. Old saniculae do not die at a higher rate than younger ones.^{[citation needed]}

• Sea urchins, lobsters and some clams have relatively high rates of mortality in the ocean, but mortality does not appear to increase with age.^{[citation needed]}

• Hydras were observed, in a study published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, for four years without any increase in mortality rate.^[1]

There are stranger examples of species that have been observed to regress to a larval state and regrow into adults multiple times:

• The Hydrozoan species Turritopsis nutricula is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again. This means that there may be no natural limit to its life span.^[2] However, no single specimen has been observed for any extended period, and it is impossible to estimate the age of a specimen.

• Carrion beetles have been made to regress within the larval stage when starved, and to regrow into previous size. The cycle can be repeated many times.^[3]

Revived into activity after stasis

• Various claims have been made about reviving bacterial spores to active metabolism after millions of years. There are claims of spores from amber being revived after 40 million years, and spores from salt deposits in New Mexico being revived after 240 million years. These claims have been made by credible researchers, but are not universally accepted.^[4][5] In a related find, a scientist was able to coax 34,000 year old salt-captured bacteria to reproduce and his results were duplicated at a separate independent laboratory facility.^[6]
• A seed from the previously extinct Judean date palm was revived and managed to sprout after nearly 2,000 years.^[7]

Clonal plant colonies

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 clone. Some clonal colonies may be fully connected via their root systems, while most are not actually interconnected, but are genetically identical clones which populated an area through vegetative reproduction. Ages for clonal colonies, often based on current growth rates, are estimates.^[8]

• Pando is a Populus tremuloides (Quaking Aspen) tree or clonal colony that has been estimated at 80,000 years old,^[9] although some claims place it as being as old as one million years.^[10] Unlike many other clonal "colonies" the above ground trunks remain connected to each other via a single massive underground root system. Whether it is to be considered a single tree is disputed, as it depends on one's definition of an individual tree.
• The Jurupa Oak colony is estimated to be at least 13,000 years of age, with other estimates ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 years.
• A huge colony of the sea grass Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean Sea could be up to 100,000 years old.^[11]
• King's Lomatia in Tasmania: The sole surviving clonal colony of this species is estimated to be at least 43,600 years old.^[12]
• A box huckleberry bush in Pennsylvania is thought to be as old as 13,000 years of age.^[13]
• Eucalyptus recurva: clones in Australia are claimed to be 13,000 years old.^[14]
• Quercus palmeri: a clonal oak shrub near Riverside in California, isolated for centuries from the rest of its species, is dated at around 13,000 years old.^[15]
• King Clone is a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in the Mojave desert estimated at 11,700 years old.^[16] 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 to over 3,000 years.^[17]
• A colony of Norway Spruce in Sweden, nicknamed Old Tjikko, includes remnants of roots that have been carbon dated to 9,550 years old.^{[18][19][20][21]}
• An individual of the fungus species Armillaria solidipes in the Malheur National Forest is thought to be between 2,000 and 8,500 years old.^[22][23] It is thought to be the world's largest organism by area, at 2,384 acres (965 hectares).

Individual plant specimens

• A Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) called Prometheus was measured by ring count at 4,862 years old when it was felled in 1964. This is the greatest verified age for any living organism at the time of its felling.^[8] Another Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, known as Methuselah, measured by ring count of sample cores is, at 4,842 years old, the oldest known tree in North America, and the oldest known living individual tree in the world.^[24]
• Llangernyw Yew, the oldest individual tree in Europe and second or third oldest individual tree in the world. Believed to be aged between 4,000 years and 5,000 years old this ancient yew (Taxus baccata) is in the churchyard of the village of Llangernyw in North Wales.
• Fortingall Yew, an ancient yew (Taxus baccata) in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland; one of the oldest known individual trees in Europe. Various estimates have put its age at between 2000 and 5000 years, although these days it is believed to be at the lower end of this range.
• Fitzroya cupressoides is the species with the second oldest verified age, a specimen in Chile being measured by ring count as 3,622 years old.^[8]
• A Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) specimen, the Sri Maha Bodhi, is (if its reported planting date of 288 BC is correct) at 2,293 years old, the oldest known flowering plant.
• A specimen of Lagarostrobos franklinii in Tasmania is thought to be about 2000 years old.^[25]
• Numerous Olive trees are purported to be 2000 years old or older. An olive tree in Ano Vouves, Crete, claiming such longevity, has been confirmed on the basis of tree ring analysis.^[26]
• Jōmon Sugi, the cryptomeria naturally grown in Yakushima Island, Kagoshima, Japan, more than 2,170 to 7,200 years old.
• Great sugi of Kayano, the cryptomeria deemed planted by humans in Kaga, Ishikawa, Japan, estimated age of 2,300 years in 1928.
• Welwitschia is a monotypic genus of gymnosperm plant, composed solely of the very distinct Welwitschia mirabilis. It is the only genus of the family Welwitschiaceae, in the order Welwitschiales, in the division Gnetophyta. The plant is considered a living fossil. Radiocarbon dating has confirmed that there are many individuals which have lived longer than 1000 years, and some are suspected to be older than 2000 years.
• 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, the north of Chile and the west of Argentina at between 3200 and 4500 metres altitude. Many yaretas are over 3,000 years old.^{[citation needed]}

Animals

• A subdivision of Black Coral, A. Leiopathes sp. specimens, is among the oldest continuously living organisms on the planet; around 4,265 years old.^[27]
• The giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta is one of the longest-lived animals, with the largest specimens in the Caribbean estimated to be in excess of 2,300 years.^[28]
• The black coral Antipatharia in the Gulf of Mexico may live more than 2000 years.^[29]
• 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.^[30]
• A specimen of the Icelandic Cyprine Arctica islandica (also known as an ocean quahog), a mollusk, was found to have lived 405 years and possibly up to 410.^[31][32] Another specimen had a recorded life span of 374 years.^[33]
• Some koi fish have reportedly lived more than 200 years, the oldest being Hanako, died at an age of 226 years on July 7, 1977.^[34]
• Some confirmed sources estimated Bowhead Whales to have lived at least to 211 years of age, making them the oldest mammals.^[35]
• In recent times, the Russian malacologist Valeriy Zyuganov received worldwide reputation after he determined the maximum lifespan (210–250 years) in the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera).^[36][37] The data of V.V. Zyuganov have been confirmed by Finnish malacologists^[38] and gained general acceptance.
• Specimens of the Red Sea Urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, have been found to be over 200 years old.^[39]
• Adwaita, a Aldabra Giant Tortoise died at the age of 255 in March 2006.
• Tu'i Malila, a Radiated tortoise, died at an age of 188 years in May 1965, the oldest verified vertebrate.^[40]
• Harriet, a Galápagos tortoise, died at the age of 175 years in June 2006.^[41]
• The deep-sea hydrocarbon seep tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi (Annelida, Polychaeta) lives for over 170 years.^[42]
• Timothy, a Greek Tortoise, died at an age of 160 years in April 2004.^[43]
• Geoduck, a species of saltwater clam native to the Puget Sound, have been known to live over 160 years.^[44][45]
• George the lobster was estimated to be approximately 140 years old by PETA in January 2009.^[46]
• Jeanne Calment was the oldest human to have verifiable birth records. She was 122 years old at time of death in 1997.
• Tardigrades, capable of cryptobiosis, have been shown to survive nearly 120 years in a dry state.^[47]
• The tuatara can live well above 100 years. Henry, a tuatara at the Southland Museum in New Zealand, mated for the first time at the age of 110 years in 2009 with an 80-year-old female and fathered 11 baby tuataras.
• A female Blue-and-yellow Macaw named Charlie was reportedly hatched in 1899, which would make her 111 years old, as of 2010. Her age has not been independently confirmed and the claim may not be reliable. She is claimed to have formerly belonged to Winston Churchill, but Churchill's daughter denies the claim.^[48]
• An orca of the "Southern Resident Community" identified as J-2 or Granny is estimated to be the oldest orca in the entire community and is 99 years old, as of 2010.
• Lin Wang was the oldest Asian elephant and elephant in the Taipei Zoo. It was born in 1917 and died in February 2003 at age 86, surpassing the previous record of 84. Normal elephants lived up to 50, while its maximum lifespan is estimated at 70.
• Cookie, a Major Mitchell's Cockatoo resident at Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, USA is the oldest member of his species in captivity, at a verified age of 78, as of 2011.
• The oldest living horse on record was a miniature horse affected by dwarfism named Angel who lived with the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina and lived to be over 50.^[49]

See also

Ecology portal

• Longevity
• Maximum life span
• Immortality and Biological immortality
• Regeneration
• Oldest people and List of oldest people
• List of oldest trees
• List of oldest dogs

References

1. ^ Martinez D.E. Mortality patterns suggest lack of senescence in hydra, Experimental Gerontology. 1998. 33:217-225
2. ^ "Cheating Death: The Immortal Life Cycle of ''Turritopsis''". 8e.devbio.com. http://8e.devbio.com/preview_article.php?ch=2&id=6. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
3. ^ Beck S.D, Bharadwaj R.K. 1972. Reversed development and cellular aging in an insect. Science 178:1210-1211
4. ^ "Oldest Living Thing". Extremescience.com. http://www.extremescience.com/OldestLivingThing.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
5. ^ "The Permian Bacterium that Isn't". Oxford Journals. 2001-02-15. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.full. Retrieved 2010-11-16. 
6. ^ 34,000 Year Old Organism
7. ^ Erlanger, Steven. "After 2,000 years, a seed from ancient Judea sprouts." The New York Times. June 12, 2005.
8. ^ ^{a b c} Gymnosperm Database (2 January 2007). "How Old Is That Tree?". http://www.conifers.org/topics/oldest.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 
9. ^ Quaking Aspen by the Bryce Canyon National Park Service
10. ^ Genetic Variation and the Natural History of Quaking Aspen, Mitton, J. B. & Grant, M. C. (1996). BioScience 46 (1): 25-31.
11. ^ Ibiza Spotlight (28 May 2006). "Ibiza's Monster Marine Plant". http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/news/2006/monster_plant_280506_i.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
12. ^ Discovery Channel (21 October 1996). "Tasmanian bush could be oldest living organism". http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1996/10/21/01.asp. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 
13. ^ Ad Crable, Lancaster New Era, August 20 1999 Meet the World's oldest - and hardest working - plant
14. ^ "Oldest Living Organism". http://www.extremescience.com/OldestLivingThing.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 
15. ^ "A Pleistocene Clone of Palmer's Oak Persisting in Southern California". http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008346. Retrieved 2010-01-02. 
16. ^ "Plant Hall of Fame". http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0932544.html. 
17. ^ "Native Conifers of Tasmania". Paks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/veg/pines.html. Retrieved 2008-05-06. 
18. ^ "Press release from Umeå University". Info.umu.se. http://www.info.umu.se/NYHETER/PressmeddelandeEng.aspx?id=3061. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
19. ^ Swedish spruce may be world's oldest living tree (Reuters, 11 April 2008)
20. ^ "Oldest Living Tree Found in Sweden". News.nationalgeographic.com. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080414-oldest-tree.html. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
21. ^ World's oldest living tree discovered in Sweden (Swedish Research Council, 16 April 2008)
22. ^ Humongous Fungus A New Kind Of Individual. Science Daily. March 25 2003.
23. ^ Strange but True: The Largest Organism on Earth Is a Fungus. Scientific American. October 4, 2007.
24. ^ Gymnosperm Database (15 March 2007). "Pinus longaeva". http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/longaeva.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 
25. ^ "Botanical Record Breakers: Amazing Trivia About Plants". Waynesword.palomar.edu. http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0601.htm#oldest. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
26. ^ O. Rackham, J. Moody, The Making of the Cretan Landscape, 1996, cited in F. R. Riley (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
27. ^ Graczyk, Michael (2009-03-25). "Scientists ID living coral as 4,265 years old". The Associated Press. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6341406.html. 
28. ^ McMurray, S. E., Blum, J. E., & Pawlik, J. R. (2008). Redwood of the reef : growth and age of the giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta in the Florida Keys. Marine Biology, 155, 159-171. doi: 10.1007/s00227-008-1014-z.
29. ^ "2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home". 2010-03-30. http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2745. Retrieved 2010-04-03. 
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31. ^ "NewsDaily: Science - 405-year-old clam longest lived animal". Web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/19960101-re_/http://www.newsdaily.com/Science/UPI-1-20071028-18102000-bc-britain-clam-crn.xml. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
32. ^ "Bangor University Press: 400 year old Clam Found". Bangor.ac.uk. 2007-10-28. http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php.en?Id=382. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
33. ^ Schöne et al.; 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 (228): 130–148. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.03.049. 
34. ^ Dr. Komei Koshihara, The Story of Hanako, NHK, 1966 - about the carp that died 226-year-old, and century-old carps
35. ^ Alaska Science Forum (15 February 2001). "Bowhead Whales May Be the World's Oldest Mammals". http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 
36. ^ 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 ХХIX (2): 102–105. doi:10.1579/0044-7447-29.2.102. http://pinnacle.allenpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1579/0044-7447-29.2.102. 
37. ^ Зюганов В.В. (2004). "Арктические долгоживущие и южные короткоживущие моллюски жемчужницы как модель для изучения основ долголетия.". Успехи геронтол. 14: 21–31. 
38. ^ Helama S., Valovirta I. (2008). "The oldest recorded animal in Finland: ontogenetic age and growth in Margaritifera margaritifera (L. 1758) based on internal shell increments.". Memoranda Soc. Fauna Flora Fennica 84: 20–30. http://www.helsinki.fi/science/raakku/memoranda-2008.pdf. 
39. ^ Ebert, TA and JR Southon 2003. Red sea urchins can live over 100 years: confirmation with A-bomb [14.sup]carbon — Strongylocentrotus franciscanus. Fishery Bulletin, 101(4): 915-922
40. ^ Seed: Week In Science: 6/23 - 6/29^{[dead link]}
41. ^ "Harriet the Tortoise dies at 175". BBC News. 23 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5109342.stm. 
42. ^ Sharmishtha, D., Miles, L. L., Barnabei, M.S., Fisher, C. R. 2006. The hydrocarbon seep tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi primarily eliminates sulfate and hydrogen ions across its roots to conserve energy and ensure sulfide supply. Journal of Experimental Biology 209:3795-3805 http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/209/19/3795
43. ^ "Timmy the tortoise dies aged 160" BBC News
44. ^ BC Seafood Online, 168 year old geoduck
45. ^ "Cashing in on geoducks", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 21, 2004, 164 year old geoduck
46. ^ "George the giant lobster liberated from restaurant", CNN, 10 January, 2009
47. ^ Guidetti, R. & Jönsson, K.I. (2002). "Long-term anhydrobiotic survival in semi-terrestrial micrometazoans". Journal of Zoology 257 (2): 181–187. doi:10.1017/S095283690200078X. 
48. ^ "Winston's obscene parrot lives on", BBC News, 19 January, 2004.
49. ^ "Miniature Horse Facts"