What is the oldest animal on Planet Earth?

The age of planet Earth is estimated at approximately 4.5 billion years and, over that time, several species of animals have passed through the Earth's surface. However, can you guess what the oldest animal on earth? No? Continue reading to find out!

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What is the oldest animal on Earth?

After several mass extinctions that eliminated more than 70% of animal species until then existing on the planet, such as dinosaurs, some animals still resist and have been around for thousands of years.

In order to survive, these animals needed to overcome adverse conditions and adapt to extreme climates, hot or cold, and dangerous predators. Thinking about it, can you tell which is the surviving animal that has been on the surface of our planet for the longest time?

Guinness tried to offer the answer, but a twist happened.

In 2010 Guinness World Records granted the title of oldest living animal on Earth to tadpole shrimp, scientific name

Triops cancriformis. After the discovery of more than 201.3 million-year-old fossils of tadpole shrimp, researchers awarded the title to these animals.

But a turnaround happened, and the tadpole shrimp lost the title. This happened because other similar species were found at the bottom of the sea and, in comparison with the DNA of tadpole shrimp, there is no evidence that the fossil found is theirs.

So there is no exact answer to the question?

Today researchers are focusing on determining which is the oldest animal species on Earth. Some candidates may occupy this position, such as coelacanths, with ancient fossils dating back 400 million years.

In 1938, researchers found a species of animal after thinking it was on the verge of extinction.

Also in contention is the horseshoe crab, which is over 480 million years old. However, even they are not considered the oldest species. This is because the most current species of these animals are about 25 million years old.

For scientists from American Scientist, animal species can live from 500,000 to 3 million years, when replacement by their descendants occurs.

In this way, with the constant evolution of DNA and the adaptation of species, it is practically impossible to say which is the animal that has existed for the longest time on planet Earth.