For most animals the idea of an expected life span is meaningless, since so many die shortly after birth and so few die of old age, except in captivity.
However, reliable longevity records for individual animals have been kept.
The animal with the longest recorded life span is the Marion’s tortoise of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean.
One tortoise lived to be more than 152 years old and found its way into The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats.
The quahog, a type of clam, is in second place and can survive 150 years if it avoids the dinner table.
The mammal with the longest recorded life is man.
Some human beings live more than 110 years.
After humans, the Asiatic elephant lives the longest; one elephant lived to be 78 years old.
The shortest-lived mammal is the pocket gopher, which typically lives for 20 months.
