Enormous Lifespans in the Animal Kingdom

Searching for the Fountain of Youth? Turns out the best place to look ... might be the ocean.

Scientists recently discovered that the bowhead whale can live for up to 200 years. In 2007, fishermen found one with a harpoon tip stuck in its blubber. A harpoon tip … from the 1800s.

But bowheads are toddlers compared to Greenland sharks. In 2016, scientists established that one was at least 272 years old, making it the longest-living vertebrate. And since they can theoretically live up to 600 years, there could be Greenland sharks alive today who were born before Christopher Columbus.

But no other species can rival the longevity of the immortal jellyfish. Thanks to a unique ability to change its cell functions, it can move backward in its life cycle when health is imperiled, meaning there’s no theoretical limit to its lifespan.

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