Greenland Shark - The incredibly slow growing (and slow moving) species' lifespan was estimated (using a novel carbon dating method) to be 272 years.
Gall Midge - Every day is judgement day for this family of flies. The gall midge emerges fully grown in the morning and perishes by that afternoon. So short is their adult life span, in fact, that the bugs don't even eat a first - let alone a last - supper.
Quahog Clam - While these plankton eating molluscs, which are found in the Atlantic off North America and Europe , often live for about 2 centuries, one named Ming lasted a mind-bending 500 years. Like a tree, growth rings provide scientists with clues about the creature's age - and the ocean conditions and climate in which it lived.
Pygmy Shrew - This tiny creature, weighing less than an ounce, is not only the smallest American mammal but also one of the shortest living. Its maximum lifespan is thought to be about a year, and many die after only 2 to 4 months. Despite their tiny bodies, these shrews starve extremely easily because of their lightning fast metabolism.