Hanako (fish)

Hanako (c. 1751 – July 7, 1977) was a bright red koi fish owned by several individuals, the last owner of Hanako was Dr. Komei Koshihara. The name  translates to "flower child" in Japanese. Far going beyond the average lifespan for her breed, she was 226 years old at the time of her death. Her age was determined in 1966 by removing two of her scales and examining them a lot. At this time, Hanako weighed  and measured  in length. Once the scales were fully and carefully studied, it was determined that she was 215 years old. In July 1974, a study of the growth rings of one of the koi's scales reported that Hanako was 226 years old. She may be, to date, the longest-lived koi fish ever recorded. There has been an argument as to the truthfulness of these longevity claims.

The average koi raised outside of Japan can be expected to reach 15 years of age, while the average Japanese koi's lifespan is 40 years. Some sources give an accepted age for the species at little more than 50 years.

 References 

Category:Individual animals
Category:Cypriniformes