Researchers believe the record for shortest adult life span belongs to the female mayfly called Dolania americana. After spending a year or more living on the bottom of a stream in its aquatic nymph form, it emerges as a flying adult — and lives for less than five minutes.
The common shrew has a very short lifespan and it is rare for a member of that species to live for more than 12 months. Mice have the shortest lifespan of a mammal at an average of 4 years.
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.
1. Tortoise. Those looking for a pet for life will find that the Tortoise is one of the best options out there. Some tortoise species have been known to live for over a century.
#1: Mayfly — The Shortest Lifespan of Any Known Animal
These insects are the shortest living animals on the planet, as the adult lifespan of a fly from this species is only 24 hours.
They react differently when external stimuli are applied while sleeping and while awake. But the bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus show the same reaction in both situations. This indicates that bullfrogs do not sleep. Lithobates catesbeianus is an animal that cannot sleep.
In terms of the number of humans killed every year, mosquitos by far hold the record, being responsible for between 725,000 and 1,000,000 deaths annually.
Some of the other animals which have been observed engaging in surplus killing include orcas, zooplankton, humans, damselfly naiads, predaceous mites, martens, weasels, honey badgers, jaguar, leopards, lions, wolves, spiders, brown bears, American black bears, polar bears, coyotes, lynxes, minks, raccoons and dogs.
While mammals and birds possess the prerequisite neural architecture for phenomenal consciousness, it is concluded that fish lack these essential characteristics and hence do not feel pain.
Sharks can sleep, and often opt to keep their eyes open while they do, according to new research published in Biology Letters. Because some sharks must swim constantly to keep oxygen-rich water flowing over their gills, it has long been rumored that they don't snooze at all.
Indeed, this is a fun fact about the ostrich that not many are aware of. These animals do have three stomachs and an abnormally long intestine which requires at least 36 hours to digest the food ingested. The three stomachs all serve different functions.
Why the ostrich is the only living animal with four kneecaps.
Cockroaches are infamous for their tenacity, and are often cited as the most likely survivors of a nuclear war. Some even claim that they can live without their heads. It turns out that these armchair exterminators (and their professional brethren) are right. Headless roaches are capable of living for weeks.
It's another sleepless night in the savannah. Wild elephants average just 2 hours of sleep a night, making them the lightest-known snoozers of any mammal.
So, while most sharks will be 100% fine if they stop swimming, a few iconic species such as great white sharks, whale sharks, hammerheads and mako sharks would suffocate without forward motion or a strong current flowing towards their mouths.
Fish also have been observed by scientists to learn, have memory and adapt their behavior to new circumstances, arguing for their sentience. Fish are not senseless beasts, and fish feel pain, including sharks.
Myth #1: Sharks Must Swim Constantly, or They Die
This allows them to rest on the sea floor and still breathe. However, sharks do have to swim to avoid sinking to the bottom of the water column. The ability to move up and down freely in the water column is, in fact, one of the extraordinary adaptations of sharks.
The honey badger has been called the world's most fearless animal because it doesn't hesitate to attack animals much larger than itself- even lions and crocodiles!
MEGHAN: There is one animal that we know of that does not poop at any point during it's life time and that is the demodex mite. So this is an incredibly small creature, it's actually an arachnid, so it's very closely related to spiders and scorpions but it's really small, we can't see it with just our eyeball.
As explained by plant biologist Dr. Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, all living organisms perceive and respond to painful touch, but plants do not perceive or “feel” pain the same way that animals do because they lack a nervous system and brain.
It's Natural to assume that animals with large teeth and aggressive reputation animals like lions or poisonous snakes are the world's deadliest killers. But appearance not sufficient to judge the creature's deadliness. Mosquito has recorded the maximum killing of people every year.
Animals with no natural predators are called apex predators, because they sit at the top (or apex) of the food chain. The list is indefinite, but it includes lions, grizzly bears, crocodiles, giant constrictor snakes, wolves, sharks, electric eels, giant jellyfish, killer whales, polar bears, and arguably, humans.