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Charted: The Longest-Living Animals on Earth
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In the natural world, every day is a quest for survival, but some creatures have evolved to endure for centuries and even thousands of years.
So, which animals have the longest lifespans?
This infographic highlights the longest-living animal species on Earth based on data from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which includes marine creatures, birds, and land-dwelling species.
Nature’s Longest-Lived Creatures
Many of the world’s most enduring species inhabit marine environments, where deep-sea conditions provide stable temperatures, fewer predators, and slow metabolic rates.
Here’s a look at the animals with the longest confirmed lifespans in the wild:
| Animal | Longest Confirmed Lifespans (wild) | Animal type |
|---|---|---|
| Glass Sponges | >10,000 years | Sponge (Marine) |
| Black Coral | 5,000 years | Coral (Marine) |
| Giant Barrel Sponges | >2,300 years | Sponge (Marine) |
| Greenland Sharks | >400 years | Fish |
| Aldabra Giant Tortoises | 150–250 years | Reptile |
| Ocean Quahogs | 225 years | Mollusk |
| Bowhead Whales | >200 years | Mammal |
| Rougheye Rockfish | >200 years | Fish |
| Lobsters | 100 years | Crustacean |
| Tuataras | 100 years | Reptile |
| Elephants | 80 years | Mammal |
| Parrots | 80 years | Bird |
| Albatrosses | 73 years | Bird |
Glass sponges are the oldest living creatures, with some thought to be more than 15,000 years old. Often found at depths beyond 450 meters below sea level, some glass sponges have likely been around since the last ice age.
Other ocean-dwelling, long-lived creatures include black corals and giant barrel sponges, which can survive for thousands of years. Greenland sharks are the longest-lived vertebrates, with some estimated to be over 400 years old.
Meanwhile, Aldabra giant tortoises are the longest-living land dwellers and are native to the Seychelles Islands. As of 2025, a tortoise named Jonathan holds the title of the oldest known living land animal at 192 years old.
Among mammals, elephants can live almost as long as humans, with the longest recorded wild elephant reaching 80 years. However, the longest-living mammals are bowhead whales, which can live for over 200 years.
Unexplored Life in the Ocean
While most of the longest-lived animals live in marine habitats, what’s truly astonishing is that more than 80% of Earth’s oceans remain unexplored.
In the depths, there may be even older, undiscovered creatures that have endured for thousands of years and are waiting to be found.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
Interested in learning more about the natural world? Check out The Fastest Land Animals on the Planet on the Voronoi app.
The post Charted: The Longest-Living Animals on Earth appeared first on Visual Capitalist.