Some of the bowhead whales in the icy waters off of Alaska today are over 200 years old
That’s not a lot of evidence, but interesting if true.
Very awesome. I guess it is safe to say (if true/confirmed) that whales are the mammals with the longest lifespans?
Searching shows this to be the general consensus now. I don’t think any other mammals come close. Other than humans I don’t know if any other mammals exceed 100 years.
Yea, but it’s just Bowhead Whales. I don’t believe there’s any evidence that other species of whales live nearly that long.
Mammals, definitely. But oldest confirmed animal was Ming the clam (Arctica islandica bivalve mollusc AKA ocean quahog), who died in 2006 at the ripe old age of 507 years. Originally thought to be around ~400 years old, but the article goes into some depth on the dating methods used and says the researchers are pretty confident now about the 507 number.
Bowhead whale seems to be second place overall for all types of animals. Below that, there are a bunch of different lists out there of highest-longevity animals that aren’t all in exact agreement, and it’s hard to tell which are the most reliable / well-researched sources. But most of them seem to be populated by fish/eels/reptiles/tortoises. As far as mammals, it’s probably safe to put humans at #2 followed closely by African elephants, which get a 60-70 year average life expectancy under good conditions.
I thought many of the larger Whales had a 60-70 year lifespan?
Can you imagine living for 500+ years . . . as a clam?
Even a clam’s gotta get mighty bored with that.
That’s the first thing I thought of. Thanks for expressing it, as we all get closer to the edge.
Not if you’re…
happy as a clam.
Nobody is totally sure how long a Galapagos tortoise can live. I think they have one thats over 200.
How about the Immortal Jellyfish?
Speed, the Galapagos tortoise that lived at the San Diego Zoo, died (was euthanised) in June.