Whether due to good genetics, adaptability or sheer luck, these beings or species broke the record overtime
(Image: Max Kueng)
prehistoric lineage
SPECIES – Tadpole shrimp (Triops cancriformis)
200 million years
Two colonies of this crustacean found in the United Kingdom have existed since the continents still formed the Pangea superblock. For scientists at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, the current animals are identical to their ancestors, whose eggs resisted until the extinction of the dinosaurs
(Image: J Zapell)
forest of one
BEING ALIVE – Pando (Populus tremuloides)
80 thousand years
Two records: This cluster of aspen trees in the US is the oldest life form in the world and the heaviest, weighing in at 5 million tons. They are considered a single individual because, connected by roots, they have “cloned” themselves since the Pleistocene period. Another secret of its longevity: the deep roots make the ground more resistant to landslides and erosion.
(Image: Karl Brodowsky)
infinite loop
BEING ALIVE – Old tjikko (Picea abies)
9.5 thousand years
Capable of continuously spawning new individuals asexually, this colony of Swedish pines is so phenomenal that it has become the subject of research at the University of Umeå. Trees can die and be born again several times – but their roots remain intact, even consuming their own remains!
(Image: Bjorn Christian Torrissen)
Slow and always
SPECIES – Yareta (Compact Azorella)
3 thousand years
The plant native to South America grows 1.5 cm per year. Does it seem little? That’s okay: it has maintained this rhythm for at least 3,000 years and today it already spreads like a thick carpet in the Atacama Desert, in Chile, and in the mountains of Peru. Resists high insolation and temperature changes
(Image: Thomas Schoch)
dual identity
SPECIES – Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis)
2 thousand years
The name comes from the Austrian naturalist who discovered this strange creeping plant, Frederich Welwitsch, in the dunes of Angola. It grows all its life and has characteristics of two distinct species: despite acting like a cactus, it is closely related to the pine tree. Curiosity: the age of a bivalve mollusk is calculated like that of a tree: counting the growth rings inside it
(Image: G.-U. Tolkiehn)
saving O2
SPECIES – Ming (Icelandic Arctica)
507 years
Found in Iceland in October 2006, this mollusk was named after the ruling Chinese dynasty at the time of its birth. He accidentally died during an analysis, but scientists were able to conclude that his low oxygen consumption slowed down aging.
(Image: MrKimm)
Genetics to envy
SPECIES – Freshwater Pearl Mussel (margaritifera margaritifera)
Between 210 and 205 years
In the early 1990s, Russian biologist Valeriy Ziuganov gained worldwide notoriety when he discovered that this type of mollusk did not age at the same pace as others of similar species. The reason was quite curious: it produces excessive amounts of stem cells, which are regenerative.
(Image: Taollan82, Kirt L. Onthank)
skewer ball
SPECIES – Red sea urchin (Franciscanus strongylocentrotus)
200 years
According to a survey by the Department of Zoology at Oregon State University, USA, the largest and oldest recorded individuals of this species are from British Columbia, Canada. Longevity is guaranteed by the body fully coated with sharp spines of up to 8 cm
(Image: Guinness Book)
witness of history
BEING ALIVE – Jonathan (Dipsochelys hololisa)
183 years old (minimum)
Jonathan is a Seychelles tortoise that holds the title of oldest living land animal. According to historical accounts, the reptile was young when it arrived on the island of Saint Helena, in the Atlantic Ocean, in 1832. To get an idea, it almost «met» Napoleon, who died in 1821
(Image: Cacophony)
Happy ending
BEING ALIVE – Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus)
125 years
In April 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources captured a sturgeon estimated to be 125 years old. It was also one of the largest ever seen in the region, measuring 2 m in length and weighing 108 kg. He was returned to the river to continue his long journey.
(Image: Guinness Book)
Respect the elders!
BEING ALIVE – Susannah Mushatt Jones (homo sapiens)
116 years
Since June, this American lady is the oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontological Investigation Group (GRG), which identifies and registers in Guinness the cases of supercentenarians. Born into a poor farming family, she struggled to go to college and founded an institution to secure student loans for underprivileged youth.
(Image: Icarus Yuji / Illustration on photo)
life prisoner
BEING ALIVE – Henry (Crocodylus niloticus)
115 years
This Nile crocodile knows how to enjoy a (long) life: it has had six mates and more than 7,000 babies! According to handlers at the Crocworld reserve in South Africa, it caused panic in Botswana and ended up captured at the end of the 19th century by a hunter who sentenced it to captivity as punishment.
(Image: Guinness Book)
conservation
BEING ALIVE – Yasutaro Koide (homo sapiens)
112 years
What’s the secret to living more than a century? According to this former Japanese tailor, who received the title of oldest man in the world in July, “The best tip is not to overdo it”, in food, work, worries… It worked for him: until he was 110 years old, Yasutaro managed to read newspaper without even needing glasses!
(Image: Arnstein Ronning)
preserved in ice
SPECIES – Lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum)
100 years
This species of organism (consisting of a green algae and a fungus) lives (and spreads) in any cold habitat. Its greatest concentration is in the pollution-free mountain areas of Canada and in the coastal areas of Siberia and the Antarctic Peninsula. It grows just 0.2 mm per year on average and can exceed a century of life
(Image: Dhphoto)
Easy prey
BEING ALIVE – Snooty (Trichechus manatus)
66 years old
According to data from Save the Manatee Club, few manatees living in the wild live past the age of 30 (in fact, most die before age 10, due to human predation). In captivity, Snooty has more than doubled that record. He was born in Miami in 1948
(Image: John Klavitter/US Fish and Wildlife Service)
frequent flyer program
BEING ALIVE – Wisdom (Phoebastria immutabilis)
64 years old
An experienced pilgrim and mother of more than 30 albatrosses, this Laysan albatross is considered the oldest wild bird in the world. Since scientists put a band on its paw in 1956, it is estimated that it has flown almost 5 million km (more than six round trips from Earth to the Moon!)
(Image: Icarus Yuji / Illustration on photo)
victim of trafficking
BEING ALIVE – Presley (Cyanopsitta spixii)
40 years
Sold illegally in a pet shop in the US, Presley, the oldest male Spix’s Macaw in the world, died in July 2014. Returned to Brazil in 2002, he became an icon for the conservation of the species and the fight against human trafficking. animals, which every year capture about 40 million specimens
(Image: Icarus Yuji / Illustration on photo)
Friends forever
BEING ALIVE – Max (canis lupus familiaris)
29 years old
Mix of beagle, dachshund and terrier that lived between 1983 and 2013, Max holds the world record for the oldest dog in history. With another three months, he would have reached 30! Today, Guinness considers that no living dog qualifies for the title. The most recent holder of the record, Jake the American terrier, died on July 27, aged 21.
(Image: George Chernilevsky)
Widow beyond measure
SPECIES – Tarantula (theraphosidae)
28 years
The oldest spider ever found is believed to be a crabeater captured in Mexico in 1935. Unlike males, which normally die after mating, reaching 5 to 7 years of life, females are able to regenerate damaged limbs
(Image: Guinness Book)
returned to the throne
BEING ALIVE – Corduroy (Felis silvestris catus)
25 years
This cat from the city of Sisters, USA, was considered the oldest of its kind until 2014, when it was proven that another cat, Tiffany Two, was even older. But the “rival” died in May 2015, aged 27. Corduroy should not relinquish his post so soon: according to his owners, he is still doing great, healthy and very active.
(Image: Guinness Book)
What’s that old man?
BEING ALIVE – Do (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
17 years
A hybrid of the French Angora and Dutch Dwarf breeds, this European rabbit from New Jersey, in the USA, easily passed the average life expectancy of rabbits, which is between 6 and 8 years. On a diet of hay and cedar sawdust, he lived the equivalent of 170 human years.
SOURCES Websites G1, R7, The State of S. Paulo, IBAMA, BBC, Guinness Book, miami aquarium; and magazines SUPERINTERESSANTE and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
CONSULTANCY Patrícia Serafini, environmental analyst at the National Center for Research and Conservation of Wild Birds (Cemave/ICMBio), and Milena Testoni, biologist at the São Paulo Aquarium