Extant animals size

[SameerluvAnimals]

The blue whale is the largest animal known to have existed, even larger than the largest known dinosaurs. It can grow to 24 to 30 m (80 to 100 ft) long, as long as a Boeing 737 airliner and weigh 100 – 150 tonnes. So an adult blue whale can weigh as much as 25 adult African elephants. Some large individuals can weigh upto a colossal 200 tonnes. 

Due to its large size, several organs of the blue whale are the largest in the animal kingdom. A blue whale's tongue weighs around 2.7 tonnes which approaches the weight of an adult female elephant.   When fully expanded, its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 tonnes of food and water.




The most famous modern shark, the great white shark is the 3rd largest shark alive today behind the basking shark and the whale shark. The great white sharks grow to an average of 4.5 - 5 meters (15 - 16 ft) in length and the largest of them gets to 6 meters (20 ft) and a weight of upto 2.2 tonnes.




The Baird's beaked whale is the largest of all the beaked whales. It reaches the length of 10.7–13 metres (39–43 ft) and weigh in the neighborhood of 10 to 14 tonnes.




The Greenland shark is one of the largest living species of shark, with dimensions comparable to those of the great white shark. Greenland sharks grow to 6.4 m (21 ft) and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and possibly up to 7.3 m (24 ft) and more than 1,400 kg (3,100 lb). Most Greenland sharks observed have been around 2.44–4.8 m (8.0–16 ft) long and weigh up to 400 kg (880 lb). As an adaptation to living at depth,it has a high concentration of trimethylamine N-oxide in its tissues, which causes the meat to be toxic. Greenland shark flesh treated to reduce toxin levels is eaten in Iceland as a delicacy. They can be found at depths of more than 1,200 metres, making sightings of the shark rare. The Greenland shark is an apex predator and mostly eats fish. It has never been observed hunting. Recorded fish prey have included smaller sharks, seals,skates, eels, herring, capelin, Arctic char, cod, redfish, sculpins, lumpfish, wolffish, and flounder. Greenland sharks have also been found with remains of even polar bears, horses, moose and reindeer (in one case an entire reindeer body) in their stomachs. The Greenland shark is known to be a scavenger, and is attracted by the smell of rotting meat in the water.

An examination of 28 specimens in one study published in 2016 determined by radiocarbon dating that the oldest of the animals that they sampled had lived for about 392 ± 120 years (a minimum of 272 years and a maximum of 512 years). They used a radiocarbon dating method previously used to analyse the age of whales for the first time on a fish. It suggests the Greenland shark surpasses other species known for long life, including sea turtles (about 100 years) tortoises (between 100 and 255 years), and bowhead whales (around 200 years).The only creature believed to live longer is the ocean quahog, a type of edible clam which has a life expectancy of 507 years.

Quote:The mysterious Greenland shark, which can reach more than five metres in length, can reach an age of around 400 years, researchers say. They reach sexual maturity at the age of about 150, a new study reports. The Greenland shark is now the oldest-known vertebrate to roam the Earth.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...143218.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/...rth--stud/


Animals that outlive humans :

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/the-...e31386076/

I'm sure that many people don't know about this shark which is indeed alive today. I remember seeing this shark once in a documentary. The 2 different things about this shark is that, it is big as a great white shark or at least comes close to it's size. The another thing which is also amazing is it's lifespan. Seriously an age between 512 and 272 years ? Holy Earth, this is a lucky animal.