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3. What is the longest-lived marine mammal?

**What is the longest-lived marine mammal?**  Scientists agree that the **bowhead whale** has the longest lifespan of  all marine mammals. Bowhead whale and calf in the Arctic (Marine Mammal Permit 782-1719)** Whales are the largest animals on Earth and  live longer than all other mammals in the contemporary animal kingdom. While many ocean  lovers can easily identify the iconic sperm whale, the charismatic humpback and  the wily orca, not all are familiar with the bowhead. According to scientists,  this colossal year-round Arctic dweller may live *200-plus years.* The  bowhead’s lifespan may be the second-longest of all animals, topped only by the 500-year span of a North Atlantic clam called the  ocean quahog. The bowhead whale’s first claim to (scientific) fame was  its humongous head, which houses the *largest mouth* of any animal — its highly arched shape gives the species its name — and may comprise  nearly 7.62 meters (25 feet) of a mature male’s  19.81-meter (65-foot) length. The overall length of the bowhead is long enough to stretch across a  four-lane highway with plenty of room on either side. Any bio of the bowhead  would not be complete without mentioning its weight, which ranges from 68-90.7 metric tons (75-100  tons), and its .488-meter-wide (1.6-foot) layer of insulating blubber, which makes it very “well suited” to its icy environment. The bowhead also  sports, at up to 3.96 meters (13 feet) long, the longest baleen (filter-feeding organ) of its dozen baleen-whale  “cousins.” Bowheads also boast *two* blowholes, as do all baleen whales. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has  federal responsibility for protecting marine mammals and threatened and  endangered marine life. With an estimated population of approximately 10,000,  the bowhead whale is listed as endangered under the  Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
 Did You Know? Corals may be the oldest living animals of all. Many corals appear to be a single organism, but they are actually colonies of genetically identical coral polyps that are constantly regenerating. Living deep-sea corals have been dated to be more than 4,000 years old!   More **Information** National Marine Fisheries Service Species Directory   Get **Social** Social
  **Last updated:** 11/15/23 **Author:** NOAA How to cite this article Contact Us


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