We all know from school that many ancient animals that once inhabited the planet have long since become extinct. But did you know that there are now animals on Earth that saw dinosaurs? And then there are animals that have been around longer than the trees these dinosaurs ate the leaves from. However, many of these ancient representatives of the fauna have remained virtually unchanged over the millions of years of their existence. Who are these old-timers on our Earth and what is so special about them?
1. Jellyfish
The first place in our “rating” is rightfully occupied by jellyfish. Scientists believe that jellyfish appeared on earth about 600 million years ago.The most big jellyfish, which the man caught, had a diameter of 2.3 meters. Jellyfish do not live long, about a year, because they are a delicacy for fish. Scientists are puzzling over how jellyfish perceive nerve impulses from the organs of vision, because they do not have a brain.
2. Nautilus
Nautiluses have lived on Earth for more than 500 million years. These are cephalopods. Females and males differ in size. The nautilus shell is divided into chambers. The mollusk itself lives in the largest chamber, and uses the remaining compartments, filling or pumping out with biogas, as a float for diving to depth.
3. Horseshoe crabs
These marine arthropods are rightfully considered living fossils, because they have lived on Earth for more than 450 million years. To give an idea of how long this is, horseshoe crabs are older than trees.
It was not difficult for them to survive all the known global disasters, practically unchanged in appearance. Horseshoe crabs can rightfully be called animals " blue bloods" Their blood, unlike ours, is blue, because it is saturated with copper, and not iron, like human blood.
The blood of horseshoe crabs has amazing properties - when it reacts with microbes, clots are formed. This is how horseshoe crabs create a barrier against germs. A reagent is made from the blood of horseshoe crabs and used to test medications for purity.
4. Neopilins
Neopilina is a mollusk that has lived on Earth for approximately 400 million years. He hasn't changed in appearance. Neopilins live at great depths in the oceans.5. Coelacanth
Coelacanth is a modern fossil animal that appeared on our planet about 400 million years ago. Over the entire period of its existence, it has remained virtually unchanged. On this moment Coelacanth is on the verge of extinction, so catching these fish is strictly prohibited.
6. Sharks
Sharks have existed on Earth for more than 400 million years. Sharks are very interesting animals. People have been exploring them for many years and never cease to be amazed at their uniqueness.For example, a shark’s teeth grow throughout its life, the most big sharks can reach 18 meters in length. Sharks have an excellent sense of smell - they can smell blood at a distance of hundreds of meters. Sharks practically do not feel pain because their body produces a certain “opium” that dulls pain.
Sharks are amazingly adaptable. For example, if there is not enough oxygen, they can “shut down” part of the brain and use less energy. Sharks can also regulate the salinity of water by developing special means. Shark vision is several times better than that of cats. IN dirty water they can see up to 15 meters away. 
7. Cockroaches
These are real old-timers on Earth. Scientists say that cockroaches have inhabited the planet for more than 340 million years. They are hardy, unpretentious and fast - this is what helped them survive during the most turbulent periods of history on Earth.Cockroaches can live for some time without a head - after all, they breathe with the cells of the body. They are excellent runners. Some cockroaches run about 75 cm in a second. This is very good result relative to their height. And their incredible endurance is evidenced by the fact that they can withstand radiation almost 13 times more than humans.
Cockroaches can live without water for about a month, without water for a week. Their female retains the male's seed for some time and can fertilize herself.
8. Crocodiles
Crocodiles appeared on Earth about 250 million years ago. Surprisingly, crocodiles first lived on land, but then they liked to spend a significant part of their time in the water.Crocodiles are amazing animals. They don't seem to do anything for nothing. To make food easier to digest, crocodiles swallow stones. This also helps them dive deeper.
There is a natural antibiotic in the crocodile's blood that helps them not get sick. Average duration Their lifespan is 50 years, but some individuals can live up to 100 years. Crocodiles cannot be trained and can be considered the most dangerous animals on the planet.
9. Shchitni
Shchitni appeared on Earth during the period of dinosaurs approximately 230 million years ago. They live almost all over the world, except Antarctica.Surprisingly, the shields have not changed in appearance, they only became smaller in size. The largest scale insects were found measuring 11 cm, the smallest - 2 cm. If the scale insects are hungry, cannibalism is possible among them.
10. Turtles
Turtles inhabited the Earth approximately 220 million years ago. Turtles differ from their ancient ancestors in that they have no teeth and have learned to hide their heads. Turtles can be considered long-lived. They live up to 100 years. They see, hear, and have a keen sense of smell. Turtles remember human faces.If the temperature in the nest where the female laid eggs is high, females will be born; if it is low, only males will be born.
11. Hatteria
Hatteria is a reptile that appeared on Earth more than 220 million years ago. Now the tuataria live in New Zealand.Hatteria looks like an iguana or lizard. But this is just a similarity. Hatterias established a separate detachment - beak-headed. This animal has a “third eye” on the back of its head. Tuttaria have slow metabolic processes, so they grow very slowly, but they can easily live up to 100 years.
12. Spiders
Spiders have lived on Earth for more than 165 million years. The oldest web was found in amber. Her age became 100 million years. A female spider can lay several thousand eggs at a time - this is one of the factors that has helped them survive to this day. Spiders have no bones; their soft tissues are covered by a hard exoskeleton.The web could not be made artificially in any laboratory. And those spiders that were sent into space spun three-dimensional webs.
It is known that some spiders can live up to 30 years. Biggest famous spider has a length of almost 30 cm, and the smallest is half a millimeter.
13. Ants
Ants are amazing animals. It is believed that they have lived on our planet for more than 130 million years, while practically not changing their appearance.Ants are very smart, strong and organized animals. We can say that they have their own civilization. They have order in everything - they are divided into three castes, each of which does its own thing.
Ants are very good at adapting to circumstances. Their population is the largest on Earth. To imagine how many there are, imagine that there are about a million ants per inhabitant of the planet. Ants are also long-lived. Sometimes queens can live up to 20 years! They are also amazingly smart - ants can teach their fellows to look for food.
14. Platypuses
Platypuses have lived on Earth for more than 110 million years. Scientists suggest that at first these animals lived in South America, but then they got to Australia. In the 18th century, the skin of platypuses was first seen in Europe and was considered... a fake.Platypuses are excellent swimmers; they easily obtain food from the river bottom using their beaks. Platypuses spend almost 10 hours a day underwater.
Platypuses could not be bred in captivity, but in wildlife Today there are quite a few of them left. Therefore, animals are listed in the International Red Book.
15. Echidna
The echidna can be called the same age as the platypus, because it has inhabited the Earth for 110 million years.Echidnas look like hedgehogs. They boldly guard their territory, but when in danger they burrow into the ground, leaving only a bunch of needles on the surface.
The echidna does not have sweat glands. In hot weather they move little; in cold weather they can hibernate, thus regulating their heat exchange. Echidnas are long-lived. In nature they live up to 16 years, and in zoos they can live up to 45 years.
I wonder if a person can live on Earth for that long?
When viewed from scientific point vision, then it’s clear that no cat or dog will survive longer than a person.Of course, I do not take into account the various factors due to which a person can die prematurely.
Based on scientific data, we can compile the TOP 10 animals that can live longer than humans. Many are sure that parrots are long-lived. However, they live on average 15-30 years, and only large breeds sometimes live up to 50-60 years and even 70.
So, let's begin.
1. Arctica islandica is a species of marine bivalve mollusks that live in the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In October 2007, researchers from Bangor University in Wales determined that a clam caught off the Icelandic coast was between 405 and 410 years old. This age makes the mollusk the longest-lived animal with a confirmed maximum age.
2. Renland (polar) whale - a marine mammal, baleen whale, living in the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Life expectancy is about 40 years. However, some individuals can live up to 211 years, which is a record among vertebrates.
3. The Advaita turtle (“the only one” in Sanskrit) is an animal recognized as one of the oldest in the world. At the time of death on the night of March 22-23, 2006, the turtle was, according to various estimates, from 150 to 250 years old. Advaita belonged to the giant tortoises and was very popular among tourists. Advaita was the favorite of the hero who died in 1774 Seven Years' War and the conqueror of India - Lord Clive of the East India Trading Company.
4. Koi carp (more precisely, brocade carp) are decorative domesticated subspecies of carp that have gone through six selective selections, after which it is assigned a certain category. Currently, there are many varieties of koi in Japan, but only fourteen colored shapes and patterns are considered standard. A koi fish named Hanako died in 1977 at the age of 226.
5. Guidak - a type of marine bivalve molluscs. These large (up to 1.5 kg in weight) organisms have very long fused siphons (up to 1 m in length) and relatively small (up to 20 cm) fragile shell. It is considered the largest burrowing mollusk. The name "geoduck" ("gweduck") is borrowed from the Indians and means "digger deep." It lives off the northwestern coast of the USA and Canada. This mollusk is famous as one of the longest-living animals: the average life expectancy of geidaks is 146 years, and the age of the oldest individual found was 168 years.
6.Sturgeons are a genus of freshwater, semi-anadromous and migratory fish. Body length up to 6 m (Atlantic and white sturgeon), weight up to 816 kg (white sturgeon). The documented age of the oldest sturgeon is 125 years.
7. Atlantic bighead (as well as Atlantic slughead or Icelandic berix) - large deep-sea sea fish. Lives in cold water at depths of up to 1800 meters in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Known for its high life expectancy. The maximum age recorded was up to 149 years.
8.European pearl mussel is a type of bivalve mollusk. Inhabits clean fresh streams and rivers of many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. They served as an object of fishing for the extraction of mother-of-pearl and freshwater pearls. Recently, Russian researcher V.V. Zyuganov found that the freshwater pearl mussel has the longest life among freshwater invertebrate animals - a maximum lifespan of 210-250 years.
9.Red sea urchin is a type of sea urchin that lives in Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California in rocky shallow waters. It is called red, although the color ranges from pink to almost black. Lifespans often exceed 30 years, and scientists have discovered several red sea urchins that are over 200 years old.
10.Lamellibrachia luymesi - a species of tube worms that live in deep (up to 800 m) cold waters near sources of oil and methane. The largest number of these three-meter worms lives in the Gulf of Mexico. The age of most individuals has been established to be more than 170 years, but there are specimens older than 250 years.
1. A macaw named Charlie. Charlie was born in 1899 and is 119 years old. Bird owner Peter Oram bought Charlie in 1965 for his pet store. Later, Peter Oram took the bird home because Charlie behaved obscenely - he loved to swear. There is a version that in the 1930s Charlie belonged to Winston Churchill, and it was he who taught the parrot to swear. In 2004, Churchill’s daughter denied this information: the British Prime Minister did indeed own a similar bird, but, according to her, not a Charlie parrot at all.
2. Giant sea sponge. This animal amazed researchers, first of all, with its size: 3.7 m long and 2.1 m wide. The sponge was discovered at a depth of 2,100 m in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It is not possible to estimate the exact age of the animal, but scientists believe that the giant is at least a thousand years old. Sea sponges have been living in these places for more than 2,300 years: perhaps our giant lived even then.
3. A lobster named George. In 2009, George was recognized as the oldest lobster in the world, at that time George was 140 years old. A huge lobster was caught at the end of 2008 in Canada. The lobster was first sold to a local restaurant, but PETA (the world's largest animal rights organization) intervened in the situation and demanded that George be returned to his natural habitat. After 10 days, the miracle happened and George was released.
4. Unnamed Greenland shark. To estimate the age of this and other sharks caught in fishing nets, scientists used radiocarbon dating of eye lens tissue. It turned out that the Greenland shark born between 1501 and 1744. Even the lower limit of the probable age - 274 years - suggests that this is the oldest vertebrate animal in the world.
5. Alligator Muja. The alligator arrived at the Serbian zoo in 1937 as an adult male. According to experts, the age of the animal exceeds 80 years. During the Second World War, Belgrade experienced heavy air strikes, as a result of which Almost all the animals died zoo. But Muja seems to have been born with a shirt on: the alligator survived hard times and remained unharmed.
6. Jonathan the Giant Tortoise. Researchers claim that the animal was born in 1832, although the average lifespan of turtles is 150 years. 186-year-old male lives on St. Helena Island from 1882, and the first photo of Jonathan dates back to 1902. There is a funny story associated with this turtle. In 1991, a female named Frederica was brought to the territory where Jonathan lives. Over the course of 25 years, these turtles were repeatedly observed attempting to mate, but Frederica did not lay eggs. Only a couple of years ago it was discovered by chance that Frederica was a male.
7. Indian elephant Lin Wong. This animal can be found in the Guinness Book of Records: Lin Wong was recognized as the oldest elephant to ever live on the planet. Unfortunately, Lin Wong will no longer be able to be seen with his own eyes: the elephant died in 2003 at the age of 86 years. However, in 2016, information appeared that it was time to give the palm to a new candidate. Another long-liver is the elephant Dakshayani, the property of the Indian religious community Travancore Devaswom Board. TDB employees appealed to the Book of Records demanding that Dakshayani be recognized as the oldest elephant in the world, but they never provided significant evidence.
8. Short-eared bat from Siberia. The long-lived species of Brandt's bat was discovered in 1964. Then the scientists marked the bat and released it back into its natural habitat. But in 2005 the bat was rediscovered researchers! The male surprised scientists very much: the fact is that bats live no more than 20 years.
9. Albatross Wisdom - the most old bird in the world. The story of the albatross is similar to the fate of the Siberian bat. Wisdom was first found in 1956, when the bird was about 5-6 years old. In 2002, after 46 years, Wisdom was rediscovered by researchers. Scientists note that Wisdom is surprisingly fertile: the female managed to give birth to 39 cubs. Now the bird is about 67 years old.
10. A killer whale named Granny. Granny born 1911, it lives in the Pacific Ocean under natural conditions. The killer whale was first discovered in 1967 in Puget Sound, Washington. Since Granny was already past childbearing age at that time, the animal was returned to its natural habitat. The Granny has no markings, but is easily identified by its distinctive scar on its fin. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that the killer whale has already died: last time Granny was spotted in October 2016.
In terms of life expectancy, humans are inferior to many representatives of the animal world. Many of them live longer than a century, and some even live for five hundred years.
Bivalve mollusk of the species Arctica islandica
Today, these mollusks are considered the longest-living animals on Earth. Studies of the shells of several mollusks conducted in 2006-2007 at Bangor University in Wales showed their maximum age - more than 500 years. The oldest specimen, named Ming, was 507 years old.
Giant turtle
Giant tortoises are land reptiles, endemic to Aldabra Island (Seychelles). These turtles are one of the longest living animals on Earth. In captivity they live on average up to 150 years.
The record holder for age among known to science The first tortoise to emerge was a 250-kilogram tortoise named Advaita (Sanskrit for “the only one”), who lived at the Calcutta Zoo. At the time of her death she was 256 years old.
Turtles are not only long-livers, but also one of the most ancient animals. Turtle fossils are over 220 million years old. The question of their origin is still considered debatable. Most scientists assume that the turtle predecessors were Permian cotylosaurs.
Koi Carp Koi carp are also called brocade carp. This is a domesticated ornamental subspecies of common carp. Koi carp can be considered a fish that has gone through 6 selective selections. After all stages of selection, she is assigned specific category. There are more than 80 koi breeds in total, they are divided into 16 groups.
The world learned about the longevity of koi in 1966. During a radio appearance, Japanese doctor Komei Koshihara told the story of the Hanako carp. When Komei was born, beautiful fish already lived in a small pond near his house. Years passed, the boy went to study. Every time he returned home, a large 70-centimeter fish was still swimming in the pond. Koshihara asked his grandmother how long Hanako had been living here. According to the grandmother, the fish was at least 100 years old.
As an adult, Komei Koshihara decided to find out Hanako's age. He asked his friend Masayuki Amano, who worked at a fish farming station, to help with this. Analysis of Hanako's scales showed that Hanako is the oldest carp known to science. At the time of verification he was 217 years old. The fish died in 1977 at the age of 226 years.
European pearl mussel
The European pearl mussel is currently on the verge of extinction. Previously, these mollusks were fished for mother-of-pearl, but today this has become unprofitable.
The fact that the pearl mussel can be of great interest to gerontologists became known only in 2000, when the Russian researcher Valery Zyuganov established: the pearl mussel, which lives in Europe and North America, lives 210-250 years, and is the record holder for longevity among all known freshwater invertebrate animals.
Pearl mussels are characterized by the phenomenon of negligible aging, that is, the rate of their aging is difficult to statistically distinguish from zero within a single sample. Also called negligible aging is the phenomenon of “non-aging” - the lack of correlation between age and the probability of death. Interestingly, the phenomenon of neglected aging is also observed in people who live to be 90-100 years old. After reaching this age, their chance of living to each next year does not decrease over the years. It was also noticed that all people who lived to these years are genetically similar to each other
Red sea urchin Sea urchins are amazing creatures. These are the most “many-legged” representatives of the animal world. Moreover, they use their numerous needles as legs, the number of which can reach up to a thousand. In addition, sea urchins have a spiral-shaped intestine and an organ unique in its structure - the Aristotelian lantern, consisting of five pyramidal outgrowths, shaped like drills. Inside each outgrowth there is a sharp tooth.
Sea urchins are one of the most ancient creatures on Earth. They lived on the planet back in Paleozoic times. IN early XIX centuries, scientists believed that sea urchins They do not live long - about 15 years, but recent studies of sea urchins provide amazing results. It turns out that red sea urchins can grow and develop throughout their lives without showing signs of aging. These creatures live for more than 200 years. And it is unclear how long they could have lived if they had not had natural enemies in the ocean, from which hedgehogs have to run away on their thorns.
Clam Guidak
The Guidak mollusk looks rather strange. It consists of a small shell relative to the size of the body and two long fused siphons, which can reach one meter in length. “Guidak” is translated from the Indian language as “digging deep.” This is the largest burrowing mollusk in the world, so this name is quite justified.
Guidaks are long-lived. Their average lifespan is 146 years, but scientists also found a 160-year-old individual. Guidaks have almost no natural enemies in nature; in addition, they have a slow metabolism, which ensures Guidaks' longevity. Damage to the mollusk can be caused by sharks and sea otters, as well as by humans - the meat of geoducks is eaten in China and Japan.
Mollusks are softened by external fertilization. Over the course of their more than century-long life, female Guidaks release about five billion eggs.
Greenland whale We couldn’t do without whales in our rating. Whales are the largest animals on our planet and yes, they are long-lived. The bowhead whale is the longest living vertebrate. The average lifespan of mammals of this species is not so long - 40 years, but some representatives live more than 200 years.
Whales are also interesting because they develop, grow and reproduce throughout their lives, and the intensity of these processes does not weaken with age. Whales are of interest to gerontologists because even the oldest whales show no signs of aging when studied. That is, whales, like some other animals (such as, for example, mole rats) do not become decrepit.
There is still no exact answer as to why whales die. Interestingly, the age of a whale can be determined by the protein content in the lens of the eye. Its turbidity is the only indicator of whale aging. Scientist Vladimir Skulachev, who has been involved in gerontology for many years, believes that perhaps whales go blind, and then simply crash.
Cats and dogs are people's favorite pets, and among them there are many record holders who have remained close to their owners for many years. There are long-lived horses, fish and turtles.
The oldest cats
As you know, cats rarely live more than twenty years. Even twenty years is a record age for them. It is known about a cat whose age is already more than forty years. She lives in the UK. This is the most ordinary cat named Lucy. She ended up in the house of her current owners by accident, passing on as an inheritance after the death of a relative. Lucy sees almost nothing and finds it difficult to move around the house. The owners noticed that she was deaf.The new owners learned that the cat was at least forty years old when an elderly relative came to visit them. Back in 1972, according to the old woman, Lucy hung around her fish store. After the record-breaking cat was examined by a veterinarian, it became clear that Lucy was indeed extremely old. No one can determine her exact age. We can only trust the elderly woman who has known Lucy since 1972. Converting a respectable cat's age to human age, we can say that she is already one hundred and eighty years old. Lucy's more than forty years of age can be called an amazing fact. Since the cat doesn't have official documents, it is impossible to enter this record into the Guinness Book of Records.
Cream Puff was the name of the cat who, before Lucy, was considered the oldest in the world. He lived in Texas. His age was thirty-eight years old. In third place among long-lived cats is the Blackie cat from the UK. Her owner Quentin Shaw said that he took her into the house when she was very young, but now she is already twenty-four years old. During her life, Blackie gave birth to three litters, and she outlived all of her children. Now this cat, according to its owner, is completely healthy, but has become less playful and active. The owners of the record-breaking cats believe that their pets lived such a long life because of their love and care.
There is also a long-living record holder among two-headed cats. It is known that such animals live extremely short lives. “Frank and Louis” is what the nurse called her two-headed cat veterinary clinic from Massachusetts. According to her, his previous owners brought him to the clinic to euthanize him, but she persuaded them to give the animal to her. Today this unusual cat is twelve years old.
The oldest dogs
The maximum age of a dog, which was officially certified by the Guinness Book of Records, was twenty-nine years. An Australian cattle dog named Bluey lived for so many years. The record-breaking dog was born in America in 1910. For almost twenty years he herded large cattle, never fought and ate exclusively natural food. Bluey's owner explained his pet's long life in this way. The record holder died in November 1939. Despite the fact that the dog went blind a year before his death, this did not affect his agility and activity. 
We know about a dachshund named Chanel. She lived twenty-one years. At one time, the dog moved with its owner from Rhode Island to New York. The name of this dachshund is also included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Today, the title of longest-living dog is held by the twenty-two-year-old Yorkshire terrier Billy. He lives in Halifax with his seventy-one-year-old owner. The dog is blind in one eye, he is missing several teeth, but nevertheless he loves to frolic like a puppy.
The oldest horses
There are also record-breaking animals among horses. The oldest horse in the world is a simple horse named “Old Billy.” She was born in an English village in 1760. The average age of a horse is about twenty-five years old, Old Billy managed to live a life of sixty-two years. 
Today's record holder lives in the UK - this is a horse named Shane. As you know, she is already fifty-one years old, but she feels great and leads an active lifestyle. Her place of residence is the Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary. The previous record holder died in 2004 at the age of fifty-one. It was an Arabian horse named Badger.
Long-lived fish
You won’t surprise anyone with a hundred-year-old pike or a seventy-year-old sturgeon. Nevertheless, there are long-lived fish that break all records. It is known that in 1230 in Germany, the court pike of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was released into the lake. In 1497, it was accidentally caught by fishermen. By that time, she was more than three hundred years old, and this court pike weighed as much as one hundred and forty kilograms. 
In Sweden, in the aquarium of one of the museums there lived an eel named Patti. The fish was caught in the Sargasso Sea at the age of three. Patti lived in the museum's aquarium for eighty-five long years. She died at eighty-eight years old from old age. There are especially many long-lived fish among large fish, but small aquarium fish are also known whose life expectancy is close to forty years.
The oldest animal in the world today
Scientists consider the longest living animal on earth today to be a turtle named Jonathan. It is known that he is already more than one hundred and seventy-eight years old. The record holder lives in the South Atlantic on the island of St. Helena. The first photo of Jonathan was taken back in 1900. Since then, photo sessions have been held every fifty years. Thanks to this, you can see how the animal has changed. 
The longest-living creature on Earth, according to research scientists, is a mollusk, which was discovered in the waters of the Arctic in 1982. At that time, the mollusk was at least two hundred and twenty years old. This record is noted in the Guinness Book of Records.
The long-lived mollusk, whose age at the time of its discovery was approximately four hundred years, was found in 2006 off the Icelandic coast. He was given the nickname "Min". For four whole centuries Ming lived in complete darkness at a depth of eighty meters. Its age was determined by the lines on its shell. Unfortunately, this record-breaking mollusk died of old age during the research, however, research on its shell continues.
It's not just animals that live long lives. Some old people are also surprised. For example, according to the site, the oldest Olympic champion in history was 72 years old.
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