If you look at the animal kingdom as a whole, it tends to be the simplest invertebrate creatures that live longest. There are types of coral, for instance, which have lived for well over 4000 years, and other creatures such as sponges can live for 2000 years or more. In fact there are Antarctic sponges which may be as old as 10,000 years, though this is not yet known for sure.

Looking at creatures that we more often think of as 'animals', there is nothing that lives anywhere near as long. However, there is a mollusc called Arctica islandica, or ocean quahog that can live for 400 years or more. Some types of fish and other sea creatures live over 200 years.

Of land animals, the giant tortoise is the longest lived. The oldest recorded specimens have been a Seychelles tortoise that lived to be 225, and some Galapagos tortoises have lived to 200 years or more.