What is the oldest living organism on the planet?

I&#x27;ve been under the impression for many years that the oldest living organism on the planet was the giant underground fungus in Oregon.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;strange-but-true-...</a><p>It seems to have the title of &quot;largest&quot; locked down, but it&#x27;s a viable contender for &quot;oldest&quot; as well. It&#x27;s at least worth a mention anyway.

The main Bristlecone Pine grove in California is a lovely place. It sits near 10,000 feet, and yet is pretty easy to drive to. It&#x27;s about five or six hours east of the SF bay area, depending on whether Tioga pass is open or not. (This year, the pass will be opening quite late.)<p>I strongly encourage a visit if at all possible. It is truly like another world up there, and the silence is magnificent.

is it just me or is this article written like someone who did a few google searches for old organisms and then writes down their speculations in the form of what some would call an article?<p>tl;dr <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Pando_(tree)" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Pando_(tree)</a><p>&quot;However, the oldest, precisely measured organism living on Earth today remains, for now, a Great Basin Bristlecone pine tree. Pando the quaking aspen and Antarctic glass sponges could be much older but their ages are assumed from indirect measurements and educated guesswork. &quot;

It seems that one could argue that the first single-celled organism has never died. Single-celled organisms reproduce by dividing, and there&#x27;s no distinction between parent and offspring, right? So if any offspring survives, then the original organism arguably has not died.

Somewhat related: last year a study showed that the oldest living vertebrates are Greenland sharks, which can attain ages of 400-500 years: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedaily.com&#x2F;releases&#x2F;2016&#x2F;08&#x2F;160811143218.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedaily.com&#x2F;releases&#x2F;2016&#x2F;08&#x2F;160811143218.h...</a><p>Saw a documentary that mentioned this recently. Interestingly, these sharks are born with great eyesight, but nearly all of them that have been studied have these parasites (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ommatokoita" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ommatokoita</a>) embedded in their eyes that literally eat their corneas.

The AnAge database may be of interest to those who like to think about this sort of thing.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;query.php?search=Animalia&amp;show=1&amp;sort=4&amp;page=1" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;query.php?search=Ani...</a><p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;nonaging.php" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;nonaging.php</a><p>Note the sponges, particularly this one:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;entry.php?species=Scolymastra_joubini" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;genomics.senescence.info&#x2F;species&#x2F;entry.php?species=Sc...</a><p>&quot;Animals of this and similar species of Antarctic sponges grow extremely slowly in the low temperatures. Estimates based on growth rates suggest a very long lifespan in this and similar animals. One two meter high specimen in the Ross Sea was estimated to be 23,000 years old, though because of sea level fluctuations in the Ross Sea it is unlikely that such an animal could have lived for more than 15,000 years. Even if 15,000 years is an overestimate, which may well be the case, this specimen appears to be the longest-lived animal on earth.&quot;

Why be merely old when you can be immortal ? <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;immortal-jellyfish.com&#x2F;immortal-jelly-fish-life-cycle&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;immortal-jellyfish.com&#x2F;immortal-jelly-fish-life-cycle...</a>

A related question which has always intrigued me:<p>Can long-living organisms, or hard-coded behavior across generations of short-lived organisms, be used to <i>transfer data or preserve knowledge</i> across incredible stretches of time?<p>For example, the rings within trees that live for thousands of years.<p>Or, the elaborate art made by creatures like the Japanese Puffer Fish. [0]<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=p1PID91sEW8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=p1PID91sEW8</a>

I thought the oldest may be this 13000yo bush near Riverside California? <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;articles.latimes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;dec&#x2F;22&#x2F;science&#x2F;la-sci-oak23-2009dec23" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;articles.latimes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;dec&#x2F;22&#x2F;science&#x2F;la-sci-oak23...</a>

Yes, I believe the oldest trees on Earth are around 5000 years old. Some Fungi systems could be extremely old...but they sort of clone each other so it&#x27;s not exactly the same organism living...but that said most of your cells except neurons seem to die and get replaced, so continuous living is open to some interpretation. You could say the creator of the Venus Willendorf is the oldest &quot;living in our memory&quot; human being...the sculpture is thought to be 35,000 years old and continues to influence artists today like Jeff Koons. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;arthistoryresources.net&#x2F;willendorf&#x2F;willendorfdiscovery.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;arthistoryresources.net&#x2F;willendorf&#x2F;willendorfdiscover...</a>

There is an interesting video from It&#x27;s Okay to be Smart on this topic;<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=jgspUYDwnzQ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=jgspUYDwnzQ</a><p>It seems they point to a group of bacteria living under Siberian Permafrost for the past half million years. As the video also points out; not in suspended animation, they&#x27;re rather alive and repairing themselves.

The oldest living organism may well be the planet itself, though it may require a review of the term &quot;living organism&quot; :)

Although I haven&#x27;t seen any post lately, I have been following this blog that describes some very old organisms around the world.<p>There is a description of Lomatia Tasmanica which is claimed to be 43000 years old. Obviously, growing clonally.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;oltw.blogspot.de&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;oltw.blogspot.de&#x2F;</a>

An American geographer killed the oldest confirmed bristlecone, Prometheus, which was even older than Methuselah.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Prometheus_(tree)" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Prometheus_(tree)</a>

Radiolab had a show on this story back in the day:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.radiolab.org&#x2F;story&#x2F;91722-be-careful-what-you-plan-for&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.radiolab.org&#x2F;story&#x2F;91722-be-careful-what-you-plan...</a>

a book about this very topic: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.rachelsussman.com&#x2F;oltw&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.rachelsussman.com&#x2F;oltw&#x2F;</a>

The transmittable dog cancer? It started about 11000 years ago. The cancer is an STD and the cells are all the same from the original dog.

Does &#x27;reviveable&#x27; qualify as living? Some small organisms have been revived after over 100k years if I remember correctly.

There was a tree. Someone was trying to check it&#x27;s age and his bit got stuck. He cut the tree down to retrieve his bit, finding the tree to be the oldest living (something). I don&#x27;t have a link. Probably on Atlas Obscura.

My vote would go to the cloning bacteria.

a programmer above the age of 37?

Gymnosperms – the marathon runners of the botanical world. Tré dope, mon dude.

How cavalier we are about taking life of other species.