Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Nature

orange donkey.net

5 Animals That Outlive Humans


Five animals that live longer than people – some of them by centuries!

animals outlive humans1 5 Animals That Outlive Humans

The hardest part of buying a pet is explaining the facts of life to your children when the pet dies. So why not skip that part altogether and buy a pet that will outlive your grandchildren! These five critters all have average lifespans longer than your average bear, or human, as the case might be.

Geoducks
animals outlive humans2 5 Animals That Outlive Humans

This saltwater species has a life span of a minimum 160 years (when they are not being turned into sashimi). They have a noticeable 1m long neck when out of their shell.
Tuataras (shown top)
The two tuatara species found alive today are considered to be living dinosaurs as they have flourished on earth for 200 million years. They are also one of the longest-living vertebrates on Earth, both as a species and as individuals. A captive Tuatara just fathered its first egg at the spy age of 111 years old!

Giant Tortoise
animals outlive humans3 5 Animals That Outlive Humans
This species of tortoise is currently the longest living vertebrate on Earth. One such tortoise named Harriet, a Galápagos tortoise, died at the age of 175 when she looked at a calendar (or at least I’m assuming, it was heart failure). ‘Adwaita’ another giant tortoise of Aldabra species is known to have died at the age of 250 in March 2006.

Lamellibrachia Tube Worms
animals outlive humans4 5 Animals That Outlive Humans

These colorful tube worms (L. luymesi) are found in deep sea waters. They exist on the hydrocarbon vents found on the ocean floor and seem to live more than 170 years. There is no way to be sure they are as old as they seem, but rumor is they don’t care for loud music or youth fashion trends.

Antarctic sponge
animals outlive humans5 5 Animals That Outlive Humans

Due to the extremely low temperature that prevails in Antarctic Ocean, the Antarctic sponges have an extremely slow growth rate. One specimen has been recorded to have lived for 1,550 years. This makes them the George Burns of sponges.

=================================================

No comments:

Post a Comment