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HiHo-what is the longest lived animal?

6K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  bmw 
#1 ·
And no we are not talking about the much speculated coral that is hard to keep--that is not documented. Nor any coral, of which many are colonies of individuals.
So, ???
Keep your documentation handy!

b.
 
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#3 ·
Dick Clark!!!

Actually, Doug is probably right. I understand there is a Galapagos Tortoise that has been alive since Darwin visited. But since Doug already guessed sea turtles (not technically a tortoise
) I'm going for Parrots!!! I've heard they may live up to 200 years! Imagine Polly wanting crackers that long!

Dick
 
#6 ·
I assume you mean all the sea creatures, then it would be some spp of heterodactyla (anemone), although I am sure that many reefers would think that aiptasiidae is probably the longest living of all the aquaria creatures, much like the cochroaches of the sea...

------------------
Tom <"{{{{>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato
 
#7 ·
hmmmm- when you say animal, do you mean just in the ocean, or any?

lets see... some animals like planaria can live through fragmentation.... they could live practily forever.

Phasmids...(stick bugs) are parthenogenic (sp) so essentialy can live forever.... some species no longer have males(what fun is that?)

but I would have to agree that the longest living actual critter, the one that does not "recycle" itself in some way would be one of the Geochelone tortises... parrots get up to 120yrs tops, so they dont come close.

just my guesses

Gene
 
#9 ·
Sorry-could not get thru--the "server error" kept popping up.
The giant tortoise has been know to live about 150 years--but that is not going to make it.
The longest lived bird, documented, is-get this-- a turkey buzzard, at 118 years, go figure.

Man is the longest lived mammal.
So what is the longest lived animal?
(It is a marine animimal
)
b.
 
#10 ·
Bruce,
This one is really problematical(pun intended
)!
The really big marine animals have to take many years to achieve their great size, such as the Blue Whale or Whale Shark. We also don't know much, if anything, about the life cycle of other biggies, such as the Great White Shark and the Giant Squid.
Since poor Polly has been beaten out by a buzzard, I would guess that the Blue Whale of the relatively known bigguns lives the longest. On the other hand, since we don't really know, Great Whites may live forever!!!
Dick
 
#11 ·
Well I've got to stick with the giant tortise
Here is a copyed page from microsoft encart 99.

"Humans have the longest average life span of any mammal. The average life spans of other animals vary. Elephants, for example, typically live about 70 years, while mice only live about 3 years. The longest-lived animal is the giant tortoise, which usually lives between 100 and 150 years, but has a maximum age of about 200 years. Some plants, such as trees, live much longer than any animal; redwoods, for example, may live for more than 3000 years. Some specimens of the creosote bush, a plant found in the southern United States and South and Central America, date back almost 11,700 years."

"Life Span," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 99. © 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

------------------
Scott

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all"
reef@pacifier.com
"Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you have never been hurt,
And dance like no one is watching"
 
#12 ·
If you go literally by the very rough guesstimates provided, then it would seem that even a bivalve mollusc, The K'wa-hoqh or Quahog clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) can oulast A Galapagos Tortoise (Geochelone elephantopus).

The Quahog has a supposed lifespan of 200+ years while the Galapagos tortoise is said to reach around 150 and possibly up to 200. Some Marine Turtles are said to be just a smidgen less long-lived than the Galapagos tortoise.

Here's the problem. Mollusc lifespan is usually determined by using chemical markers
to fix a point in time of shell formation, then you come back after some time, figure out how much calcium was deposited in that period. You then find the biggest, oldest looking shell and apply the derived shell-growth rate to obtain its age. Not very precise IMO, and lifespan figures never are!

If I recall correctly , the confirmed lifespan for a Galapagos tortoise is just under 90 years: as in the individual was documented for that period of time. The figure of 150-200 is an estimate


horge

*************
I think the oldest beings in the world are Balrogs (Valaraukar). Granted, they are Maiar and therefore not wholly flesh, let alone 'animals', --but they are technically older than the world itself
.

Sorry, slow day here at work


[This message has been edited by horge (edited 02-06-2001).]
 
#13 ·
Ha!
Well, by crackers, it is in fact the the plain old Quahog clam. And Horge,though measurements are imprecise, some of those show 250+, which gives a little room for error
. Scientist around here(couple of blocks) feel that measurement is probably +/- about 15%-and feel pretty comfortable about that.

Humans are the longest-lived mammals and giant tortoises are the
longest-lived reptiles, sometimes living as long as 150 years. Among
birds, the record is held by turkey buzzards at 118 years. But
thick-shelled ocean clams called quahogs hold the top longevity
record among all animals. These slow-moving mollusks can live more
than 200 years.

Quahogs are burrowing clams that feed on microscopic life they strain
from the water. They use their fleshy foot to pull themselves under
the mud, then extend two long tubes up into the water.

Native to the North Atlantic Ocean, quahogs are in great demand as
food for people, and as a result, those found near shore seldom live
longer than 10 or 20 years. Like many other North Atlantic life
forms, populations of quahogs have been reduced greatly in some areas
due to overcollecting.

Quahogs can be made into very good clam chowder:
http://www.assateague.com/clam.html
http://www.parker-river.org/nat_hist/shellfsh/quahog.htm
http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/G_Bay/quahog.html

And sorry for so long replying again--but I was still having no luck connecting.
b.
 
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