Longest Lifespans in the Animal Kingdom

About This Dataset

Animal species ranked by their maximum recorded or estimated natural lifespan. The ocean quahog clam holds the verified record for the longest-lived animal, with one specimen named Ming found to be 507 years old when it was accidentally killed by researchers in 2006 — born before Columbus reached the Americas.

Analysis

Ocean Quahog Clam heads the table on 507, ahead of Greenland Shark (392) and Bowhead Whale (211) in Maximum Recorded Age (Years). 421 separates the highest figure (507) from the lowest (86). First and second are separated by 115, so the leader sits inside the field rather than apart from it. Places 3 to 8 are close together, spanning 211 to 86.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

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Ocean Quahog Clam leads in Maximum Recorded Age (Years) with 507.

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Average Maximum Recorded Age (Years): 236 · median: 203.

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Gap: Ocean Quahog Clam is 5.9× larger than Asian Elephant.

Longest Lifespans in the Animal Kingdom

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Table

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

507

Ocean Quahog Clam

Maximum Recorded Age (Years) · All Time

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Metrics

Maximum Recorded Age (Years)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 8 entities · 8 observations
Measure: Maximum Recorded Age (Years)
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value.

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Maximum Recorded Age (Years) · ranked by All Time

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Ocean Quahog Clam	507
🥈	Greenland Shark	392
🥉	Bowhead Whale	211
4	Rougheye Rockfish	205
5	Red Sea Urchin	200
6	Aldabra Giant Tortoise	188
7	Macaw (Blue and Gold)	100
8	Asian Elephant	86