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I've been under the impression for many years that the oldest living organism on the planet was the giant underground fungus in Oregon. https://www.scientifica

I've been under the impression for many years that the oldest living organism on the planet was the giant underground fungus in Oregon. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-... It seems to have the title of "largest" locked down, but it's a viable contender for "oldest" as well. It's at least worth a mention anyway.

deleted 9y ago
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EGreg 9y ago
I think clonal colonies like Pando are some of the the oldest LARGE organisms. But can one say they are organisms? Probably a few rotifers and tardigrades are the oldest organisms since they can lie dormant for many years and then be reanimated with water. Perhaps millions of years!!!
- theptip 9y ago
  From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-living_organisms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-living_organis..., > "Humongous Fungus", an individual of the fungal species Armillaria solidipes in the Malheur National Forest, is thought to be between 2,000 and 8,500 years old.[33][34] It is thought to be the world's largest organism by area, at 2,384 acres (965 hectares). So it may be the oldest organism, but it also has the crown for largest.