How old is the oldest whale

One of the best-known examples is Lonesome George , who was the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species. He was believed to be more than years old when he died in Jonathan, a giant tortoise born in the Seychelles islands, is still going strong.

At years old, he's been designated the world's oldest living land animal by Guinness World Records. Since 50 years after his birth , Jonathan has lived on St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Jonathan is just one year shy of claiming the title of oldest chelonian ever. Chelonia is the scientific order that contains turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. That's an honor held by Tu'i Malila, a Madagascar radiated tortoise gifted to the royal family of Tonga by Captain Cook.

She died when she was at least years old in Tuatara are descended from an extinct group of reptiles that roamed the Earth alongside the dinosaurs. These scaled creatures are endemic to New Zealand, where they inhabit 32 islands. The creatures can live up to or past years of age.

One of the oldest living tuatara, Henry, is at least Henry his mate Mildred were still laying eggs together as of , when he was already though Mildred was thought to be in her 70s. With a lifespan that can exceed years, the bowhead whale is the longest-living marine mammal. In addition to its longevity, the species is known for its namesake noggin, which contains the largest mouth of any creature in the animal kingdom.

The harpoons dated to the late s, suggesting the whale was about years old at the time it died. In the study , researchers found that, on average, Greenland sharks have a lifespan of about years. Yet the sharks, which are native to the North Atlantic, can live upwards of years, as evidenced by one very old unnamed Greenland shark thought to be The largest sharks noted in the study measured centimeters 16 feet and centimeters A potential secret to the species' longevity might be its slow growth rate of one centimeter 0.

Ocean quahogs, a type of clam, typically live to years. One of these clams, nicknamed Ming, was years old when it was found in off the coast of Iceland. To calculate Ming's age, researchers counted the bands in its shell.

Ming happened to be part of a group of clams that were dredged from the ocean and frozen as part of a research project about climate change.

The only thing better than living a long time is finding a way to outwit death. One jellyfish species, Turritopsis dohrnii , is virtually immortal. As the jelly ages, it eventually settles onto the sea floor and becomes a colony of polyps individual organisms. The polyps then spawn new, genetically identical jellyfish.

Based on several studies, the oldest living mammal in the world is the bowhead whale. It is also among the few mammals that live in the sea.

The oldest living among the species can live to be almost years old. One study, published by the Telegraph, puts the age of the longest-living bowhead whale at years. The paper also points out that it is difficult for zoologists to set an exact age. Department of Commerce recently released its own data on the bowhead whale. The researchers wrote:. Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought.

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