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List of longest-living organisms
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List of longest-living organisms
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 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. Specimens of the cnidarian genus Hydra were observed for four years without any increase in mortality rate. 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. 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), one scyphozoan (Aurelia sp. 1) and one tentaculata (Mnemiopsis leiydi) 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.
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, 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. 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. 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.
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. In 2021, biologists reported the restoration of bdelloid rotifers frozen for 24,000 years in the Siberian permafrost. In 2023, it was reported that nematodes of the previously undescribed Panagrolaimus kolymaensis were revived after 46,000 years in cryptobiosis.
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List of longest-living organisms
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 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. Specimens of the cnidarian genus Hydra were observed for four years without any increase in mortality rate. 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. 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), one scyphozoan (Aurelia sp. 1) and one tentaculata (Mnemiopsis leiydi) 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.
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, 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. 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. 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.
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. In 2021, biologists reported the restoration of bdelloid rotifers frozen for 24,000 years in the Siberian permafrost. In 2023, it was reported that nematodes of the previously undescribed Panagrolaimus kolymaensis were revived after 46,000 years in cryptobiosis.