14 DAY TRIAL // Life is ephemeral by definition but it does vary from one species to another. The lifespan of each organism is considered to be the actual time it takes said organism to complete its life cycle. Most bacteria live for 15-80 minutes and then they divide into two daughter cells. More complex organisms live much longer.
Sometimes the lifespan can vary between the males and the females of the same species. In octopuses, females live 2 years on average, dying after breeding, while males can live up to 5 years. Most algae, some grass plants and small aquatic or ground animals live for several months during the warm season, spending the cold winter, until the next vegetation season, as resistant spores, eggs, seeds and so on.
Amongst plants, some of them have life cycles of two years (like onion or beet), flowering during the second year of life. Other plants live longer and are called perennial. Bushes like wild roses, bilberries, redcurrant and blackthorn live for about 30 years. Trees are the longest-lived organisms. Fruit trees live less: pear trees, cherry trees or sour cherry trees live for about 70 years. Junipers and pines live for 400 years, lime (linden) trees live for 500 years and beeches, fir trees and spruces can reach 1000 years. Oaks can live up to 2000 years, while the baobab is claimed to reach 3,000 years, although there is no proof of that.
Giant Sequoia can live up to 3,500 years, but they are not the oldest trees on Earth. The 'title' belongs to two pine species from the mountains of southwestern USA: Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) and Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine (Pinus arista) - an individual of Pinus longaeva was found to have 4,900 years! Yet, the trees are not impressive through their size. A recent research study carried out in the Swedish county of Dalarna discovered an 8,000 year old Norwegian spruce. This is not only the world's oldest living tree, but it's also the oldest being on the planet.
What about animals? Indeed, crocodiles can live as much as human beings and elephants do, also reaching the sixties. Elephants can live up to 60 years, crocodiles over 80 and recent information says that large whales can exceed 150 year. Large tortoises have been found to round about two centuries. A radiated tortoise (Geochelone radiata) from Madagascar died at the age of 188. Frogs and toads live up to 15 years. Amongst reptiles, the chameleon has the shortest lifespan: 3 years. Even pond turtles (Emys) are believed to live up to 120 years, while the lizard called blind worm (Anguis) lives up to 54 years.
The great white shark lives up to 36 years, while the whale shark lives up to 70 years. The carp reaches 40 years, and the barbs 15. The pike and the catfishes can live up to 70 years. The sturgeons can live 80 years, while the beluga sturgeon, the largest of all, up to 100 years. A clam recovered off the Icelandic coast seems to be the longest-lived animal ever found: it is an ocean quahog clam aged between 405 and 410. The animal's age was assessed by counting its shell rings, as the clam adds a new one each year.
Amongst insects, some species can spend years as larvae and a few hours as adults. In mayflies, the adult lives from 30 minutes to one day, while the aquatic larvae live one year. In some cicadas, the larvae live up to 17 years, while the adult only a few days. The fruit fly lives for 30 days, while the housefly 20-25 days. In honey bees, the workers live 38 days in summer, and 6 months in winter. The drone lives 22 days and the queen 4-5 years (!). Spiders and earthworms can live up to 10 years; a leech up to 25 years.
Tardigrades are tiny creatures with a body length ranging between 0.1 and 1.5 mm, which can stay for decades in a latent stage and revive when conditions are right. Some tardigrades revived 124 years later from dry moss samples in museums when they were exposed to water. When they are continuously active, tardigrades live just one year.
Amongst birds, hummingbirds live for about 3 years, greenfinches up to 5 years, sparrows up to 10 years and tits up to 15 years. Chickens live 15 years, crows live 19 years, blackbirds 20 years, martins 21 years, magpies 25 years, gulls 26 years, mallards 29, terns 33 years and oystercatcher 36 years. Some ravens and parrots live longer than other birds the same size (although rumors about such species living for as much as 100 years are unfounded).
The golden eagle lives 25 years in the wild and 46 in captivity. The honey buzzard lives 29 years. Brown pelicans reach 31 years and the record amongst geese is 50 years. Macaws are known to live 45 years and cockatoos and albatrosses may live up to 80 years. The Californian condor can live up to 50 years and other large birds (storks, swans and eagle owls) up to 70. An Egyptian vulture lived 72 years in captivity and larger vultures may live up to 120 years.
Mice live 5 months in the wild and 2 years in the lab. The same size naked mole-rat lives 28 years. Dogs live for 12 years on average, while large cats (tigers, lions) about 16 years. Sheep can live up to 20 years. Cows can live for 25 years and horses for up to 30 years.