Editing Maximum life span (section)

==In animals==
{{Main|List of longest-living organisms}}
Small animals such as [[bird]]s and [[squirrel]]s rarely live to their maximum life span, usually dying of [[accident]]s, [[disease]] or [[predation]].{{cn|date=November 2024}}

The maximum life span of most species is documented in the AnAge repository (The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genomics.senescence.info/species/|title=The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database|website=Anage}}</ref>

Maximum life span is usually longer for species that are larger, at least among endotherms,<ref name="Shiner & Uehlinger 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Shiner |first1=J.S. |last2=Uehlinger |first2=D.E. |title=Body mass index: a measure for longevity |journal=Medical Hypotheses |date=December 2001 |volume=57 |issue=6 |pages=780–783 |doi=10.1054/mehy.2001.1493 |url=https://doi.org/10.1054/mehy.2001.1493 |issn=0306-9877}}</ref> or have effective defenses against predation, such as [[bat]] or bird flight,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Healy K, Guillerme T, Finlay S, Kane A, Kelly SB, McClean D, Kelly DJ, Donohue I, Jackson AL, Cooper N | title = Ecology and mode-of-life explain lifespan variation in birds and mammals | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 281 | issue = 1784 | pages = 20140298 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24741018 | pmc = 4043093 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2014.0298 }}</ref> arboreality,<ref name="Shattuck & Williams 20210">{{cite journal |last1=Shattuck |first1=Milena R. |last2=Williams |first2=Scott A. |title=Arboreality has allowed for the evolution of increased longevity in mammals |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=9 March 2010 |volume=107 |issue=10 |pages=4635–4639 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0911439107 |url=https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911439107 |language=en |issn=0027-8424|pmc=2842055 }}</ref> chemical defenses<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hossie TJ, Hassall C, Knee W, Sherratt TN | title = Species with a chemical defence, but not chemical offence, live longer | journal = Journal of Evolutionary Biology | volume = 26 | issue = 7 | pages = 1598–602 | date = July 2013 | pmid = 23638626 | doi = 10.1111/jeb.12143 | doi-access = free }}</ref> or living in social groups.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Living in Groups |last1=Krause |first1=Jens |last2=Ruxton |first2=Graeme | name-list-style = vanc |date=19 December 2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198508182 |edition=1st }}</ref> Among [[mammal]]s, the presence of a [[Appendix (anatomy)|caecal appendix]] is also correlated with greater maximal longevity.<ref name="Collard et al. 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Collard |first1=Maxime K. |last2=Bardin |first2=Jérémie |last3=Laurin |first3=Michel |last4=Ogier‐Denis |first4=Eric |title=The cecal appendix is correlated with greater maximal longevity in mammals |journal=Journal of Anatomy |date=November 2021 |volume=239 |issue=5 |pages=1157–1169 |doi=10.1111/joa.13501 |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13501 |language=en |issn=0021-8782|pmc=8546507 }}</ref>

The differences in life span between species demonstrate the role of [[genetics]] in determining maximum life span ("rate of aging"). The records (in years) are these:
* for [[House mouse|common house mouse]], 4<ref>{{cite web |title=AnAge entry for ''Mus musculus'' | url = http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Mus_musculus |website=AnAge Database of Animal Ageing and Longevity | access-date = 2009-08-13}}</ref>
* for [[Brown rat]], 3.8<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Rattus_norvegicus|title=Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) longevity, ageing, and life history|website=genomics.senescence.info|language=en|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>
* for [[dog]]s, [[Bluey (long-lived dog)|29]] (See [[List of longest-living dogs]])<ref name = iberianet>{{cite web|url=http://www.iberianet.com/news/max-misses-world-s-oldest-dog-title/article_a432c462-c251-11e2-96b5-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Max misses 'World's Oldest Dog' title|work=iberianet.com|date=21 May 2013 }}</ref>
* for [[cat]]s, [[Creme Puff (cat)|38]] (See [[List of longest-living cats]])<ref>{{cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2010 |year=2010 |publisher=Bantam |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00vari/page/320 320] |quote=The oldest cat ever was Creme Puff, who was born on August 3, 1967, and lived until August 6, 2005—38 years and 3 days in total. | url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00vari |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-553-59337-2 }}</ref>
* for [[common crane]]s, 43<ref name=Mitchell1911/>
* for [[polar bear]]s, 42<ref>{{cite web | title = World's oldest polar bear | url = http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=8a696b53-4d92-420d-99e5-01718168c160 | access-date = 2008-11-19 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090803012005/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=8a696b53-4d92-420d-99e5-01718168c160 | archive-date = 3 August 2009 }}</ref> ([[Debby (polar bear)|Debby]])
* for [[Horse#Age|horse]]s, 62<ref>{{cite book |ref=Ensminger|author= Ensminger, M. E.|title= Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agricultural Series|edition= Sixth|publisher= Interstate Publishers|location= Danville, Indiana |year= 1990|isbn=978-0-8134-2883-3 |oclc= 21977751}}, pp. 46–50</ref>
* for [[Asian elephant]]s, 86<ref>{{cite web | title = Lin Wang, an Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus'') at Taipei Zoo | url = http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1306 | access-date = 2009-08-13}}</ref>
The longest-lived vertebrates have been variously described as
* [[Companion parrot#Household settings|Large parrots]] ([[macaw]]s and cockatoos can live up to 80–100 years in captivity)
* [[Koi]] (a Japanese species of fish, allegedly living up to 200 years, though generally not exceeding 50 – a specimen named [[Hanako (fish)|Hanako]] was reportedly 226 years old upon her death)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japan-nishikigoi.org/ecology.html |title=International Nishikigoi Promotion Center-Genealogy |publisher=Japan-nishikigoi.org |access-date=2009-04-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/12/animalwelfare.world |title=Will you still feed me ... ? |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 12 April 2007|access-date=2009-04-11 | location=London | first=Laura | last=Barton | name-list-style = vanc }}</ref>
* [[Tortoise]]s ([[Seychelles giant tortoise|Seychelles tortoise]]) (192 years)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/week_in_science_623_629.php?page=2 |title=Week In Science: 6/23 - 6/29 |work=[[Seed (magazine)|Seed]] |author= |date=31 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031231711/http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/week_in_science_623_629.php?page=2 |archive-date=2007-10-31 |url-status=unfit}}</ref>
* [[Tuatara]] (a New Zealand reptile species, 100–200+ years<ref>[[Tuatara#cite note-43]]</ref>)
* [[Eel]]s, the so-called [[Brantevik Eel]] (Swedish: Branteviksålen) is thought to have lived in a water well in southern Sweden since 1859, which makes it over 150 years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fiskeriverket.se/sidorutanformenyn/reportage/gammelalenhittades.4.323810fc116f29ea95a80003329.html|title=Brantevik Eels may be the world's oldest|date=11 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813143538/https://www.fiskeriverket.se/sidorutanformenyn/reportage/gammelalenhittades.4.323810fc116f29ea95a80003329.html|archive-date=13 August 2010}}</ref> It was reported that it had died in August 2014 at an age of 155.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/varldens-aldsta-al-dod--levde-155-ar-i-brunn/ |title=The world's oldest Eek dead - Lived 155 years in a well (Article in Swedish )|date=8 August 2014}}</ref>
* [[Whale]]s ([[bowhead whale]]) (''Balaena mysticetus'' about 200 years)—Although this idea was unproven for a time, recent research has indicated that bowhead whales recently killed still had [[harpoon]]s in their bodies from about 1890,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whalingmuseum.org/pressroom.html|title=125-Year-old New Bedford Bomb Fragment Found Embedded in Alaskan Bowhead Whale|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728174637/http://www.whalingmuseum.org/pressroom.html|archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref> which, along with analysis of [[amino acids]], has indicated a maximum life span of "177 to 245 years old".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html|year=2001|title=Bowhead Whales May Be the World's Oldest Mammals|access-date=2019-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209053409/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html|archive-date=2009-12-09|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskareport.com/science10065.htm|title=Bowhead Whales May Be the World's Oldest Mammals|year=2007 |orig-date=2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = George JC, Bada J, Zeh J, Scott L, Brown SE, O'hara T, Suydam R | year = 1999 | title = Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (''Balaena mysticetus'') via aspartic acid racemization | journal =Canadian Journal of Zoology | volume = 77 | issue = 4 | pages = 571–580 | doi = 10.1139/cjz-77-4-571}}</ref>
* [[Greenland shark]]s are currently the vertebrate species with the longest known lifespan.<ref name=Nielsen2016>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nielsen J, Hedeholm RB, Heinemeier J, Bushnell PG, Christiansen JS, Olsen J, Ramsey CB, Brill RW, Simon M, Steffensen KF, Steffensen JF | title = Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) | journal = Science | volume = 353 | issue = 6300 | pages = 702–4 | date = August 2016 | pmid = 27516602 | doi = 10.1126/science.aaf1703 | bibcode = 2016Sci...353..702N | s2cid = 206647043 | url = https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6c040460-9519-4720-9669-9911bdd03b09 | hdl = 2022/26597 | hdl-access = free }}
* {{cite magazine |author=Enrico de Lazaro |date=12 August 2016 |title=Greenland Sharks are Longest-Lived Vertebrates on Earth, Marine Biologists Say |magazine=Science News |url=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/greenland-sharks-longest-lived-vertebrates-04099.html}}</ref> An examination of 28 specimens in one study published in 2016 determined by [[radiocarbon dating]] that the oldest of the animals that they sampled had lived for about 392 ± 120 years (a minimum of 272 years and a maximum of 512 years). The authors further concluded that the species reaches sexual maturity at about 150 years of age.<ref name=Nielsen2016/>

Invertebrate species which continue to grow as long as they live (''e.g.,'' certain clams, some coral species) can on occasion live hundreds of years:
* A [[Bivalvia|bivalve mollusk]] (''[[Arctica islandica]]'') (aka "[[Ming (clam)|Ming]]", lived 507±2 years.<ref name=Butler_2013>{{cite journal | vauthors = Butler PG, Wanamaker AD, Scourse JD, Richardson CA, Reynolds DJ | title = Variability of marine climate on the North Icelandic Shelf in a 1357-year proxy archive based on growth increments in the bivalve Arctica islandica. | journal = Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | date = March 2013 | volume = 373 | pages = 141–51 | doi = 10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.01.016 | bibcode = 2013PPP...373..141B }}</ref><ref name=ScienceNordic>{{cite web|url=http://sciencenordic.com/new-record-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-animal-507-years-old |title=New record: World's oldest animal is 507 years old | first = Lise | last = Brix | name-list-style = vanc |work=Sciencenordic |date=6 November 2013 |access-date=2013-11-14 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131115121158/http://sciencenordic.com/new-record-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-animal-507-years-old |archive-date=15 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>)

===Exceptions===
* Some [[jellyfish]] species, including ''[[Turritopsis dohrnii]]'', ''Laodicea undulata'',<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = De Vito D, Piraino S, Schmich J, Bouillon J, Boero F |title = Evidence of reverse development in Leptomedusae (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa): the case of ''Laodicea undulata'' (Forbes and Goodsir 1851) o|date = 2006|journal = Marine Biology|doi = 10.1007/s00227-005-0182-3|volume=149|issue = 2|pages=339–346 | bibcode=2006MarBi.149..339D |s2cid = 84325535}}</ref> and ''Aurelia'' sp.1,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = He J, Zheng L, Zhang W, Lin Y | title = Life Cycle Reversal in Aurelia sp.1 (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 10 | issue = 12 | pages = e0145314 | date = 21 December 2015 | pmid = 26690755 | pmc = 4687044 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0145314 | bibcode = 2015PLoSO..1045314H | doi-access = free }}</ref> are able to revert to the polyp stage even after reproducing (so-called reversible life cycle), rather than dying as in other jellyfish. Consequently, these species are considered [[Biological immortality|biologically immortal]] and have no maximum lifespan.<ref name="piraino-96">{{cite journal | vauthors = Piraino S, Boero F, Aeschbach B, Schmid V | title = Reversing the Life Cycle: Medusae Transforming into Polyps and Cell Transdifferentiation in Turritopsis nutricula (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) | journal = The Biological Bulletin | volume = 190 | issue = 3 | pages = 302–312 | date = June 1996 | pmid = 29227703 | doi = 10.2307/1543022 | jstor = 1543022 }}</ref>
* There may be no natural limit to the [[Hydra (genus)|''Hydra'']]'s life span, but it is not yet clear how to estimate the age of a specimen.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
* [[Flatworms]], or Platyhelminthes, are known to be "almost immortal" as they have a great regeneration capacity, continuous growth, and [[binary fission]] type [[cellular division]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Saló E | title = The power of regeneration and the stem-cell kingdom: freshwater planarians (Platyhelminthes) | journal = BioEssays | volume = 28 | issue = 5 | pages = 546–59 | date = May 2006 | pmid = 16615086 | doi = 10.1002/bies.20416 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
* [[Lobster longevity|Lobsters]] are sometimes said to be [[Biological immortality|biologically immortal]] because they do not seem to slow down, weaken, or lose fertility with age. However, due to the energy needed for moulting, they cannot live indefinitely.<ref>{{cite web |author=Marina Koren |title=Don't Listen to the Buzz: Lobsters Aren't Actually Immortal |date=3 June 2013 |publisher=Smithsonian.com |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dont-listen-to-the-buzz-lobsters-arent-actually-immortal-88450872/?no-ist}}</ref>