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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchSome animals can live well beyond a century, but the evidence does not always mean the same thing: scientists estimate the age of a Greenland shark from eye-lens chemistry, while old harpoon tips recovered from bowhead whales provide direct clues to their longevity. The ocean quahog is described by NOAA as reaching about 500 years, and some corals may persist for millennia as colonies—not as single, individually aged animals.
Which animals can live for more than 100 years?
Well-supported examples include the Greenland shark, bowhead whale and North Atlantic ocean quahog. Each has evidence of exceptional longevity, but their ages are established in different ways. Corals add a further case: some colonies may survive for thousands of years, though a colony is not directly comparable to one individual animal.
| Animal | Vertebrate or invertebrate | What the evidence supports | How the age or longevity is established |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland shark | Vertebrate | The largest shark in a 2016 sample was estimated at 392 ± 120 years, with a 95.4% probability range. | Radiocarbon measurements in eye lenses; an age estimate, not a known birth date. |
| Bowhead whale | Vertebrate | Clearly more than 100 years; newer studies suggest some may exceed 200 years. | Recovered stone harpoon tips provide direct clues; newer techniques permit more precise estimates. |
| North Atlantic ocean quahog | Invertebrate | NOAA describes it as reaching about 500 years. | NOAA’s cited lifespan figure is an age description, not a direct observation of an animal followed from birth. |
| Some corals | Invertebrate; colonial organism | NOAA says some corals may live up to 5,000 years; living deep-sea corals have been dated to more than 4,000 years. | These figures concern coral colonies, so they do not establish the lifespan of a single individual in the same sense as a shark, whale or clam. |
How do scientists estimate the age of a long-lived animal?
For animals that are difficult to follow throughout life, researchers rely on physical or chemical clues preserved in the animal or recovered from it. Those clues can establish a minimum longevity, support an age estimate, or describe the age of a colony. They are not interchangeable: a recovered object associated with an animal is different evidence from a laboratory estimate with a broad uncertainty range.
Greenland sharks: radiocarbon in the eye lens
A 2016 study measured radiocarbon in Greenland shark eye lenses to estimate age. The largest shark sampled was estimated at 392 ± 120 years, with a 95.4% probability range. This is a model-based estimate, not a birth date recorded when the shark was young. The Government of Canada’s 2025 assessment says the lifespan and maturity estimates have yet to be validated, because uncertainty about deep-ocean radiocarbon dynamics affects estimated birth dates. That qualification applies to these estimates; it does not mean all methods of aging sharks are invalid.
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NOAA’s National Ocean Service says Greenland sharks “may live over 500 years,” and its page also notes that even lower estimates imply a 272-year lifespan. Those statements should be read alongside the uncertainty in the 2016 study and the Canadian assessment: the evidence supports a shark estimated to be centuries old, not a confirmed 500-year lifespan for an individual.
Bowhead whales: harpoon tips and newer techniques
Stone harpoon tips recovered from harvested bowhead whales show that some whales survived long enough to carry objects from earlier hunting periods. NOAA Fisheries says this evidence makes it clear that bowheads live well over 100 years. NOAA also says newer techniques allow more precise estimates and that studies suggest bowheads may live over 200 years. The harpoon evidence establishes exceptional longevity, while the higher figure remains a research-based estimate rather than a lifespan directly observed from birth to death.
Ocean quahogs: a NOAA lifespan description
NOAA describes the North Atlantic ocean quahog as reaching about 500 years. This makes it a striking invertebrate example alongside the vertebrate shark and whale. The figure is NOAA’s description of the species’ potential longevity; it should not be mistaken for a comparable, individually documented life history like a known birth and death date.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why coral age is a different kind of longevity claim
NOAA reports that some corals may live for up to 5,000 years and that living deep-sea corals have been dated to more than 4,000 years. But corals are colonial organisms: what appears to be one large coral can consist of many connected living units. A colony’s age therefore does not mean that one individual animal has lived for millennia. This distinction matters whenever claims about the “oldest animal” place corals beside individual sharks, whales or clams.
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What to keep in mind when comparing animal lifespans
- Check what is being counted. A single animal, an estimated individual lifespan and a coral colony are different units of comparison.
- Check the evidence type. Harpoon tips demonstrate that bowheads can survive well over a century; eye-lens radiocarbon produces an age estimate with substantial uncertainty.
- Keep the qualification attached to the number. The Greenland shark estimate is 392 ± 120 years for the largest shark in the 2016 sample, not a precise age for every Greenland shark.
- Do not treat all records as a simple ranking. The methods and definitions differ, so a list ordered from oldest to youngest can imply a comparability the evidence does not establish.
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