To date, there's only one species that has been called 'biologically immortal': the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. These small, transparent animals hang out in oceans around the world and can turn back time by reverting to an earlier stage of their life cycle.
Well, one species of animal is actually immortal! Immortality means 'eternal life', which is the ability to live forever! The turritopsis dohrnii is a species of jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea and around Japan and has been nicknamed the 'immortal jellyfish'…
Though not technically immortal animals, the bowhead whale is the oldest living mammal. According to Popular Science, several species of whales have been known to live for more than 70 years, though in the 1990s scientists discovered scars on the massive animals that had been made by weapons from the 1800s.
Vaquita. On the brink of extinction, the vaquita is the smallest living species of cetacean. The single rarest animal in the world is the vaquita (Phocoena sinus).
It's a common saying that elephants never forget. But the more we learn about elephants, the more it appears that their impressive memory is only one aspect of an incredible intelligence that makes them some of the most social, creative, and benevolent creatures on Earth.
Tardigrades are practically unkillable. The microscopic creatures, commonly known as "water bears," can tolerate stress that would end most other organisms.
Estimates of sponge longevity vary quite a bit, but are often in the thousands of years. One study in the journal Aging Research Reviews notes a deep-sea sponge from the species Monorhaphis chuni lived to be 11,000 years old. Yes, a sponge is an animal—and it has a remarkable life-span.
Lifespan refers to the maximum number of years an individual can live, making lifespan unique to everyone. The longest recorded lifespan was Jeanne Calment who lived for 122 years and 5 months, making the maximum possible human lifespan 122 years and 5 months – that is, until someone outlives Calment.
However, if a kangaroo rat drinks water, the necessary bodily liquids and vitamins are flushed out, and it dies as a result of dehydration.
Yes there are some animals that appear to be bulletproof. Armadillo 'armour' – composed of bony plates known as osteoderms – has been seen to deflect bullets. In one incident, a Texan man was hit in the face when his own bullet bounced back from an armadillo that he tried to shoot.
There are a number of marine species that outlive humans, and the mammal species that holds the record for longevity is the bowhead whale, which can live for 200 years - or more.
Humans' life expectancy (average) is 70-85 years. However, the oldest verified person (Jeanne Clement, 1875-1997) lived up to 122 years. As a person ages, the telomeres (chromosome ends) tend to become shorter in every consecutive cycle of replication. Also, bones start getting weaker by reducing in size and density.
Plus, there will be an increase in both the average height and longevity of most people in general. That means, in the year 3000 people will be about six feet tall and live to be 120 years old, on average. They will also tend to experience a slight reduction in the size of their mouths, as well.
"The discovery of this new fossil suggests to us that the evolution of multicellular animals had occurred at least one billion years ago and that early events prior to the evolution of animals may have occurred in freshwater like lakes rather than the ocean," Wellman said.
Some corals can live for up to 5,000 years, making them the longest living animals on Earth. Scientific studies of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) in the Caribbean and off the coast of Florida show that coral genotypes can survive longer than expected.
His name is Jonathan, known as the Seychelles giant tortoise that was delivered to the island of Saint Helena in 1882. It has become the oldest known living land animal. In what feels more like a biblical age, the longest living animal in the world has reached 190 years old.
Why tardigrades are so damn tough. It's important to note: Tardigrades are basically indestructible only when they enter a special state called cryptobiosis. In harsh environments, the animals tuck in their legs and expel all moisture from their bodies. In this state, they're called tuns.
What kills tardigrades? Research shows that tardigrades can be killed by exposure to hot water for an extended period of time. One study showed that one hour of exposure to water at 82.7 °C (180.9 °F) can kill a tardigrade in its “tun” state, where it goes into suspended animation and becomes hard to destroy.
The ocean quahog is a fist-size clam that can live to be 500 years or older. Some researchers believe the sturdy quahog's secret to a long life is its ability to protect its proteins from damage.
Animals that don't need sleep (bullfrogs and dolphins) Animals that don't need rebound sleep after using up all their energy (bees) Animals that show harmful side effects from sleep deprivation (humans)
Animals without backbones are called invertebrates. They range from well known animals such as jellyfish, corals, slugs, snails, mussels, octopuses, crabs, shrimps, spiders, butterflies and beetles to much less well known animals such as flatworms, tapeworms, siphunculids, sea-mats and ticks.
Or so we thought. In a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , researchers have now identified the first animal that doesn't use oxygen to breathe: Henneguya salminicola, an 8-millimeter white parasite that infects the flesh of Chinook salmon.