When we think about the oldest animal on Earth, we are not talking about a single creature that has lived for thousands of years, but rather about species that have survived on our planet for an incredibly long time. The title of “oldest animal” can be understood in two ways: the longest-living individual animal and the oldest animal species that still exists today.
The longest-living individual animal on Earth is the glass sponge, which can survive up to 15,000 years, while the oldest living individual vertebrate is the Greenland shark, reaching ages of over 400 years. If we shift our focus to evolutionary timelines, groups like sea sponges and jellyfish are the oldest animal species still in existence, having emerged between 500 and 600 million years ago. Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise born around 1832, holds the Guinness World Record title as the oldest known living land animal at 194 years old. He has lived through the Victorian era and the invention of modern technology, residing on Saint Helena.
Two Ways to Understand the Oldest Animal on Earth
To truly understand what it means to be the oldest animal on Earth, it helps to look at two remarkable record-holders: Jonathan the tortoise on land, and the Greenland shark in the ocean.
Jonathan: The Oldest Living Land Animal
Jonathan serves as a living witness to nearly two centuries of human history. He was brought to Saint Helena from the Seychelles in 1882 when he was already fully mature, meaning he was likely at least 50 years old at the time. This conservative estimate places his birth year around 1832.
Over his extraordinary lifetime, Jonathan has outlived eight British monarchs, survived two world wars, and lived through the birth of every major modern technological revolution. In 2026, he gained global attention when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Saint Helena to feed and interact with him. Despite losing his eyesight and sense of smell due to his advanced age, Jonathan continues to roam the lush grounds of the Governor’s residence, Plantation House, far outliving his species’ average life expectancy of 150 years.
Longest-Living Individual Animal
The oldest known individual animal was Ming the clam, a quahog clam (Arctica islandica). Scientists counted its growth rings, like tree rings, and found it was 507 years old when it died in 2006. It was born in 1499 during the Ming Dynasty in China, which is why it got its name.
Among vertebrates, the Greenland shark holds the record. In 2016, researchers estimated one female Greenland shark to be about 400 years old, based on radiocarbon dating of eye proteins. These sharks grow only about 1 cm per year and live in the deep cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. They do not reach sexual maturity until they are about 150 years old. For land animals, Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise is the oldest known living land animal.
The Longest-Lived Vertebrate
The Greenland Shark
While Jonathan reigns supreme on land, the title of the world’s longest-living vertebrate goes to the deep-sea Greenland shark. Residing in the frigid deep waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, this apex predator grows incredibly slowly, about one centimeter per year.
Using radiocarbon dating on the proteins in the lenses of their eyes, scientists estimate that the largest Greenland sharks can live well over 400 years. One massive female was estimated to be nearly 400 years old, meaning she would have been born in the early 17th century. These incredible creatures reach sexual maturity at around 150 years of age, making their life cycle one of the most enigmatic and prolonged of any known vertebrate on Ear
More Records Among the Oldest Animals on Earth
The title often goes to Ming the clam, an ocean quahog dredged off Iceland in 2006, aged 507 years via shell rings—making it the oldest known individual animal. Greenland sharks rival this, living 300–500 years, reaching sexual maturity around 150. Immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) can theoretically live forever by reverting to earlier life stages. These things became it oldest animal on earth .
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