This shore dweller lives a quiet life clinging to rocks and coral, waiting for the waves of the sea to bring in its food. It can and does move, very slowly. It’s a small prickly specimen, so, as it will not have time to move out of your way, you’d do best not stepping on it. Its entire body is covered in sharp spines. Luckily, it comes in bright red and orange colors to help you avoid it. The red sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) lives in the Pacific Ocean on the shores of Baja California up to Alaska.
A sea urchin can definitely outlive you. It’s one of Earth’s longest-living animals. It’s common for an urchin to live to be 100, but some are 200 years old, and they don’t look a day over 50. They grow very slowly and hardly age. Sea urchins never stop reproducing, it’s like they don’t have an old age period. Also, they can regenerate broken spines and its tiny rows of suction-cup tube feet that help it move and adhere to rocks. Underneath, on its belly, is the sea urchin’s mouth, which scrapes seaweeds and algae from low tide sea surfaces.
Telescope Cardinal
This deepwater fish can live to be 104 years old! It’s a smallish fish, growing only to 30 inches, but what it lacks in size it makes up in longevity. And it’s kind of cute. It’s got large buggy eyes, a split dorsal fin, and is decorated with purplish-brown and black iridescent scales.
Feel free to fish the telescope cardinal. In 2012 they were designated globally as “least concern.” However, as bottom dwellers, mercury levels in telescope cardinals have been recorded at well above acceptable levels.
Aldabra Tortoise
Aldabra tortoises live a very long time. As one of the world’s longest-living animals, some Aldabra giant tortoises live well into their 200s! Adwaita, an Aldabra tortoise that four British seamen brought back in the 18th century, lived at the Calcutta Zoo until its death, in 2006. This tortoise is thought to have lived 255 years. That means it would’ve hatched in 1750.
Another amazing trait of the Aldabra tortoise is their massive size. Second only to the gigantic Galapagos tortoise, the Aldabra can easily grow to 550 pounds, but average out around 250 pounds. The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) is native to the Indian Ocean. They can be found roaming Aldabra Island, one of the Seychelles islands located northeast of Madagascar. This tortoise has a super long neck, like the similar Galapagos tortoise, and loves to graze on leaves. As herbivores, they also enjoy berries, flowers, fruits, and cactus pads. They don’t reach mating age until 30 years, and the female will lay about 25 eggs after mating. Four to eight months later, tiny hatchlings break through their shells.
Finback Whale
Like a blue whale, only fifty tons lighter, the finback whale makes a human look like a telescope cardinal swimming next to it. The finback whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is the second-largest species on Earth after the blue whale. As a baleen giant, a unique fin on their back differentiates this whale. But, like the blue, it is on the endangered species list, having had its populations nearly decimated during the 20th century.
Some survivors would remember the days when harpoons were flying. A finback whale can live 80 to 100 years. The finback whale is as large as a ship and also as fast as one. Its streamlined body helps it torpedo through the sea at speeds up to 29 mph. Their great speeds were no match for whalers.
Galapagos Tortoise
The largest tortoise in the world, the Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) is one massive reptile. Known as the giant tortoise, at an average of 500 pounds, but with a record weight of 1,100 pounds, it lives up to its name. Amazingly, it gets to this huge size as a herbivore. What’s more amazing is how long a tortoise can live. A Galapagos Tortoise lives over 100 years, on average. Since this is their average lifespan, the reptile easily reaches ages nearing 200, and makes them one of the planet’s longest-living animals.
Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise who was, according to some accounts, collected by Charles Darwin during his 1835 expedition to the Galapagos Islands, lived at least 175 years. Harriet died in 2006 at the Australia Zoo. A Galapagos tortoise doesn’t reach maturity until it’s almost 25 years old. When they nest, females dig a hole about a foot deep and deposit baseball-sized eggs into the hole. And that’s it. The baby tortoise must dig their way out after hatching. It can take the little hatchlings up to a month! Fun fact: The scaly mug of a Galapagos Tortoise was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s E.T.