The most primitive species of living birds are ratites and tinamous. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world as well as the oldest banded bird in the world. We humans like to pride ourselves on our long (and getting longer all the time) life spans, but the surprising fact is that, in terms of longevity, Homo sapiens have nothing on other members of the animal kingdom, including sharks, whales, and even salamanders and clams. These sea birds, not only have the longest wingspan of any bird – up to 11 feet (3.4 meters) – but they also have one of the longest lifespans among birds. Wisdom; Wisdom with one of her chicks, in March 2011. A crane fossil from the Pliocene (5.3-2.6 million years ago) found in Nebraska that appears identical to the modern sandhill crane, making it one of the oldest known bird species! 'As the world’s oldest known bird in the wild, Wisdom is an iconic symbol of inspiration and hope for all seabird species,' said Dan Clark, refuge manager for Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Cyanobacteria are the oldest existing species in the world. The birds are social and love to stay in flocks of up to 30 birds. The bird species are long-lived with a lifespan of 60 years in the wild. These bacteria are believed to be the Earth’s oldest known life form. Species: Laysan albatross: Sex: Female: Hatched: c. 1951: Known for: World's oldest wild bird; World's oldest banded bird: Biography. In this article, discover the 11 longest-lived members of various animal families, in order of increasing life expectancy. In order to find the 50 longest living animals in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data in the Human Ageing Genomic Resources database collection -- specifically, the AnAge animal longevity database. The oldest known albatross is a roughly 65-year-old bird, named Wisdom. Read on for longest living animals who make the list of centenarians on the reg. Cookie (June 30, 1933 – August 27, 2016) was a male Major Mitchell's cockatoo residing at Brookfield Zoo, near Chicago, Illinois, United States.He was believed to be the oldest member of his species alive in captivity, at the age of 82 in June 2015, having significantly exceeded the average lifespan for his kind. 8. For many species, turning 100 years old is nothing special. Wisdom is still giving birth to and raising healthy chicks. They evolved from flighted ancestors. These long-lived birds have reached a documented 50 years of age. The evidence is in their jaws, not because they’re terrestrial, of course. While eels have an average life expectancy of around 60 years, the oldest eel is the long-finned eel living for up to 106 years! A newly discovered species is now our oldest-known example of Ornithuromorpha, the evolutionary branch that hosts all living birds.This pushes back the origin of modern birds … Fossilized stromatolites – a type of layered rock made up of microbial mats of microorganisms – dating back to over 3.5 million years ago contain evidence of cyanobacteria activity.