What is the oldest verified age of an animal? By that I mean either an
authenticated record or a practical means of determining the age of an
animal.
Please, no bowhead whales, tortoises or quahogs unless accompanied by
a birth certificate.

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Request for Question Clarification by tar_heel_v-ga on 01 Jan 2003 18:57 PST

I have found a notation about a species of invertebrate tubeworm
living upwards of 250 years. Could this be the one?

-THV

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Clarification of Question by knowitall22-ga on 01 Jan 2003 19:58 PST

tar heel v: The tubeworm longevity is unknown to me. It is not
included in the verified data I have. But again, I repeat, verified
data only, please. Not educated guesses. My candidate may indeed be
not the longest-lived, but it would be extremely interesting to know
which is. I hasten to add that I cannot personally prove my data, but
I think it is valid. To express it another way, one person's guess is
as good as another's.
Thanks,
knowitall22

---

Clarification of Question by knowitall22-ga on 02 Jan 2003 08:55 PST

tar heel v:
  Hi! I guess I'm not getting through. I have no reason to doubt the
validity of the tubeworm research, but the data cited are estimated
average growth rates. No individual WILD animal has been monitored
continuosly for hundreds of years, nor is likely to be in the
forseeable future. I cheerfully concede that tubeworms are strong
candidates for the longest -lived creature, and may someday PROVED to
be. But that's not the question. Furthermore, my candidate is older
than 170 years, which I believe is the *estimated* life span of the
tubeworm.
Thanks again, I truly admire your persistence.
knowitall22-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by tar_heel_v-ga on 02 Jan 2003 09:14 PST

I don't read it as estimated, as it is a study based on growth per
year and measurements.  Also, they are saying upwards of 250 years. 
But that is neither here nor there.

Good luck in your quest.

-THV

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Clarification of Question by knowitall22-ga on 02 Jan 2003 09:59 PST

tar heel v: Hi again. First of all, my candidate is older than 250
years. In my previous response I neglected to review all the tubeworm
claims, which were at least 250 years. But I say once again, those are
estimates, they could have a built-in error (or are the researchers
infallible?) and growth rates in a marine environment may not be
constant. As I said before, it may be tubeworms or something else. I
am hoping for a convincing response which confirms my candidate or
supersedes it. I am not dismissing all others out of hand.
Knowitall22-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 06 Jan 2003 11:09 PST

Ok... I've read this entire thread and I see what you want (I hope!).
You need an individual animal that has honestly been tracked by an
actual human being (or string of human beings)so as to definitively
document its lifespan from birth to death. Yes?

If so, I have one -- the details of which I'd be happy to supply as an
answer. It concerns a reptile that was acquired by an explorer and was
owned and protected by a National Treaty until it was accidentally
killed at an age of "more than 152 years." (It's not known how old it
was when it was found. The 152 is the number of years between capture
and death). According to the book in front of me, it is the "greatest
age definitely established for any animal."

If the details (type of animal, names, dates, etc)of this story would
suffice as an answer, please let me know and I'll post them.

Thank!

-K~





If so then here is a quote from the book in front of me:

---

Clarification of Question by knowitall22-ga on 06 Jan 2003 12:52 PST

knowledge-seeker: Hi! Your reply is one of the best since it refers to
a particular animal with a documented history, hopefully accurate.
Most of the others refer to estimated life spans of wild animals. You
have certainly understood the question. But my candidate is more than
250 years old. If my candidate cannot be verified, which I believe it
can, then yours would be a likely contender. I am hoping that someone
will submit a comment that independently confirms my contention, which
is why I have not made any claim yet. Does that clarify?
Thanks,
knowitall22

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 09 Jan 2003 14:26 PST

By the way knowitall22 --

You do understand don't you that I will go completely insane if you
don't tell us what animal YOU have that we're trying to outlive here.

* Please note that driving a researcher insane falls under an obscure
Google Answers TOS infraction (which I can't quite reference at the
moment), but it very well could result in ...well... I don't even want
to think about it...*shudder* ...

So, for your own protection, (not to mention my sanity), would you
consider providing us with details on your Methuselahian Critter on or
before January 31st when your question expires?

Or are you going to go to the Guinness Book of Records first? 

:-) K~

---

Clarification of Question by knowitall22-ga on 09 Jan 2003 16:44 PST

knowledge seeker: I can sympathize with your frustration, but I am not
trying to torture anyone. It is my hope that someone will submit an
answer which corresponds to my candidate. As I mentioned, your comment
meets the conditions of the question. To reiterate: 1)The animal must
be in captivity.(Wild animals do not have records for hundreds of
years.)2) There must be some method of verification or
authentication.3) The animal should be over 250 years old. 4) The
verification of age need not be through records on paper.
  I thought that provided sufficient clues, but apparently didn't.
Here are more clues: A) It is not a mammal B) It is valuable (or it
wouldn't have been observed for such a long time). C) It resides in
Asia. The last clue is a giveaway, I think. I did not consult the
Guiness book. I believe my information is valid, but it is not a
scholarly reference, so it will no doubt be scorned by some. Thanks
for your interest, but don't go nuts.
knowitall22

Hi again knowitall22! Hummer here.

Since you stated, "Please, no bowhead whales, tortoises or quahogs
unless accompanied by a birth certificate.", I'm going to post this as
a comment as I did with our previous encounter. After researching this
for over two hours, and consulting my son by email, I'm left with the
conclusion that the Ocean Quahog, Arctica islandica, is the longest
living animal that we know of. Their ages have been verified by
radiometric dating techniques and it sounds pretty good to me.

"The Ocean Quahog, Arctica islandica, currently holds the longevity
record for bivalves as well as for all non-colonial invertebrates, and
may, in fact, be the longest-lived animal. Individuals dredged from
the middle Atlantic continental shelf often show over 150 annual
growth increments. One specimen had 220! Because of these unusually
high age estimates, mark-and-recovery experiments were supplemented by
radiometric dating techniques to test the yearly periodicity of the
internal growth rings. The results verified the annual nature of the
rings and confirmed the conclusions regarding age. The longest-lived
animal on earth may well be a bivalve!"
Growth Rings and Longevity in Bivalves:
This is an official COA Conch-Net Web Page hosted by the Academy of
Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
Originally published in the March 1989 issue of American Conchologist
(Vol 17, No. 1, pp. 12-13).
http://coa.acnatsci.org/conchnet/jones893.html

NOAA: Ocean Quahog:
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/text/nefscseries/current/techmemo/OceanQuahog148.pdf

"Natural life spans in excess of two centuries have now been
documented in mollusks, fishes, and mammals. Humans are by no means
the longest lived animals. Demographic on captive mammal populations
are surprisingly sparse, but allow the following conclusions: (1)
large mammal species are typically longer-lived than small species;
(2) certain taxonomic groups such as bats, primates, and monotremes
are exceptionally long-lived for their body size; (3) within a
species, a rough trend exists for genetically smaller individuals to
live longer than large individuals; (4) female mammals usually, though
not universally, live longer than males."
Seminar on Human Longevity:
://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:atXw8PJ2mU8C:www.iussp.org/English%2520Site/Activities/5-lon-prog00.htm+longest+surviving+%22Monotremes%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

"A little factoid, by the way, there's a species of bivalve from the
North Atlantic that have been aged using this kind of isotopic
chronology and they are the oldest, as far as we know, the longest
lived animals in the world. They range, they have life spans of 250 to
300 years. That's pretty old clams. Not doing too much, either."
BioForum:
copyright The National Health Museum:
http://www.accessexcellence.org/BF/bf06/roopnarine/bf06b21.html


Additional Links:

The Oldest Human Beings:
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/oldest.html

"No other mammal can match the age of 120 years attained by humans
(Homo sapiens). It is probable that the closest approach is made by
the Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus). Sri Lanka's famous bull
elephant Rajah, which had led the annual Perahera procession through
Kandi carrying the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha since 1931, died on 16
Jul 1988, reportedly at the age of 81 years. The greatest age that has
been verified with certainty is 78 years in the case of a cow named
Mudoc, which died at Santa Clara, CA on 17 Jul 1975."
Mammalian Record Breakers
(no copyright cited)
http://www5.wittenberg.edu/academics/biol/courses/mammals/funfacts.htm
 
Oldest Age Achieved and Recorded
How to Live Longer:
http://www.pinoyhouse.com/health/adult/llonger.html

Jeanne Calment:
Lecture 7: Life History Theory II; Biomes of the earth:
http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~schultz/fall02/bil235/7.html

CCR: NIA Cell Repository: DNA from the Oldestest Verified Case of
Great Age:
http://locus.umdnj.edu/nia/special/oldest.html

Amusing Facts:
http://www.amusingfacts.com/facts/Animals_and_Creatures/index.html

Cambrian life
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/~currsci/dec25/articles9.htm

Harriet the Tortoise:
http://www.australiazoo.com.au/conservation/publications/release_archive_02.html

Earthwatch Expedition: Echidnas and Goannas of Kangaroo Island 
http://www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/rismiller_02/theproject.html

At any rate, if Quahogs don't do it for you, the research has been
interesting and the question is still open for another researcher to
take it on.  Otherwise, let me know and I'll post this as an answer.
I'll look forward to your response, either way.

Sincerely,
hummer

Search Strategy:
://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=oldest+verified+age+of+an+animal&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=oldest+verified+mammal&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=%22oldest+human%22+verified&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Terms Used:
oldest verified age of an animal
oldest verified mammal
"oldest human" verified

hummer-ga: I bow to your industrious, untiring research, but it is not
the quahog. I believe I have the answer to my question...I am looking
for independent confirmation. My example is 40 years older than yours.
Thanks,
knowitall22

Hi again,

My son asked me to send you these links regarding sponges:

http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/AWI/Presse/PM/021022Schwamm-e.html

http://www.porifera.org/a/ciresult.html 

Search Strategy:
://www.google.ca/search?as_q=Slow+growth+animals&num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images
://www.google.ca/search?as_q=sponge+age&num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

Slow growth animals
sponge age

Any closer?
hummer

knowitall22...

"Daoist sage Li Ching yuen, a Chinese scholar who died
 in the early 1930's, lived, according to an article in
 the New York Times, to be 260 years old."
http://home.attbi.com/~bagua/bagua.html

Or perhaps you mean The Jersey Devil:
"The Jersey Devil, the supposed mythical creature of
 the New Jersey Pinelands, has haunted New Jersey and
 the surrounding areas for the past 260 years."
http://www.diskworks.com/myth.html

Regards...
sublime1-ga

Tube Worms in Deep Sea Discovered to Have Record Long Life Spans
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Fisher2-2000.htm
"The hydrocarbon-seep tubeworms we studied take from 170 to 250 years
to grow two meters long, while hydrothermal-vent tubeworms grow well
over a meter in just one year," says graduate assistant Derk C.
Bergquist, an author of the research paper along with Frederick M.
Williams, associate professor emeritus of biology, and Charles Fisher,
professor of biology."

tar heel v and others: I pride myself for making clear statements, but
either my question was not properly phrased, or no one has read it
properly. Allow me to re-phrase: What is the longest documented life
span of an animal? This excludes all speculation by experts. Tube
worms require hundreds of years to mature? Perhaps, but has any
organization monitored any wild creature for say, 200 years? It should
be self-evident such an endeavor could not be funded. Pick a wild
creature and record its activity for hundreds of years? Right.
  So, folks, here's the clue: It cannot be a wild creature. Forget ANY
marine life. It must be in captivity. The age must be DETERMINED, not
estimated. My candidate may not be the longest-lived creature
possible, but there it has proof of age.
Thanks, 
knowitall22-ga

"To study the tubeworms' growth, the team used the Johnson Sea Link
submarine, equipped with a special staining device they designed in
collaboration with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, to
reach the tubeworm sites 1800 feet below the ocean's surface about 120
miles off the Louisiana coast.  They first used the "stainer" to color
the white tubeworm casings a robin's-egg-blue, then returned to the
site a year later to collect and study the animals.  By comparing the
overall length of each tubeworm with the length of its new, unstained,
growth, the researchers were able to determine the average growth rate
for animals of different lengths and ages. "

In human years? 

"The oldest domestic animal alive is a 32-year-old housecat in England
(that's equal to 224 human years). That gives us all a nice goal to
shoot for!"

A.

araminty-ga: Hi! A 32 year old cat is indeed impressive. I have had
two cats that almost made it to twenty. But we are not talking
extrapolations here, but rather a determined age. My candidate is more
tha 250 years old, and may still be alive. Most of the responses were
about marine life. I can more easily relate to cats. Whether I am
right or not about my candidate, the question seems to be interesting.
I hope it results in a definitive answer.
Thanks,
knowitall22

knowledge seeker: I should have included condition 3) in clues rather
than in the parameters of the question. Your candidate of a reptile at
least 152 years old met the parameters, but was not sufficiently old.
knowitall22