Although it appears to be multiple trees, Pando is a clonal colony of an individual quaking aspen with an interconnected root system. It is widely held to be the world's most massive single organism.
This article lists the largest organisms for various types of life and mostly considers extant species,[a] which found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of an organism's size, such as: mass, volume, area, length, height, or even genome size. Some organisms group together to form a superorganism (such as ants or bees), but such are not classed as single large organisms. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest structure composed of living entities, stretching 2,000 km (1,200 mi), but contains many organisms of many types of species.
When considering singular entities, the largest organisms are clonal colonies which can spread over large areas. Pando, a clonal colony of the quaking aspen tree, is widely considered to be the largest such organism by mass.[1] Even if such colonies are excluded, trees retain their dominance of this listing, with the giant sequoia being the most massive tree.[2] In 2006 a huge clonal colony of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica was discovered south of the island of Ibiza. At 8 kilometres (5 mi) across, and estimated at 100,000 years old,[3] it may be one of the largest and oldest clonal colonies on Earth.[4][5][6]
Among animals, the largest species are all marine mammals, specifically whales. The blue whale is believed to be the largest animal to have ever lived.[7] The living land animal classification is also dominated by mammals, with the African bush elephant being the largest of these.
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^Mihai, Andrei (9 February 2015). "The Heaviest Living Organism in the World". ZME Science. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^"The Giant Sequoia National Monument". Sequoia National Forest. United States Department of Agriculture - Forest service. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^"Portuguese scientists discover world's oldest living organism". www.theportugalnews.com.
^"Ibiza's Monster Marine Plant". Ibiza Spotlight. 28 May 2006. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
^Pearlman, Jonathan (7 February 2012). "'Oldest living thing on earth' discovered". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
^Arnaud-Haond, Sophie; Duarte, Carlos M.; Diaz-Almela, Elena; Marbà, Núria; Sintes, Tomas; Serrão, Ester A.; Bruun, Hans Henrik (2012). "Implications of Extreme Life Span in Clonal Organisms: Millenary Clones in Meadows of the Threatened Seagrass Posidonia oceanica". PLOS ONE. 7 (2): e30454. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730454A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030454. PMC 3270012. PMID 22312426.
^Zimmer, Carl (29 February 2024). "Researchers Dispute Claim That Ancient Whale Was Heaviest Animal Ever - A new study argues that Perucetus, an ancient whale species, was certainly big, but not as big as today's blue whales". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
This article lists the largestorganisms for various types of life and mostly considers extant species, which found on Earth can be determined according...
precambrian organisms. The largest known Permian sponge Gigantospongia had diameter up to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in). Dinosaur size Largestorganisms Megafauna...
recorded for a hexactinellid sponge.[citation needed] Largest prehistoric animals Megafauna Largestorganisms Wood, Gerald The Guinness Book of Animal Facts...
that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms. Most prokaryotes are unicellular...
The smallest organisms found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of organism size, including volume, mass, height, length, or genome...
giganteum) is the world's most massive tree, and arguably the largest living organism on Earth. It is neither the tallest extant species of tree (that...
includes the tallest organism, and the largest single-stemmed plants by wood volume, wood mass, and main stem circumference. The largest by wood volume and...
related to Reptilia. List of largest reptiles List of largest extant lizards Largestorganisms Titanoboa, world's largest known snake from the fossil record...
information related to Carnivora. List of largest mammals List of largest cats Largestorganisms List of largest wild canids Wood, G.L. (1983). The Guinness...
Bay was reported by scientists to not only be the largest plant in the world, but the largestorganism by square size. Posidonia australis is a flowering...
billion individual trees. Biomass (ecology) Largestorganisms List of longest-living organisms List of organisms by chromosome count Lists of animals Lists...
Individual fruit bodies need not be individual biological organisms, and extremely large single organisms can be made up of a great many fruit bodies connected...
The largest seed in the world is the coco de mer, the seed of a palm tree. It can reach about 30 centimetres (12 inches) long, and weigh up to 18 kilograms...
and thin, almost spaghetti-like. Megafauna List of longest fish LargestorganismsLargest prehistoric animals Wood, Gerald L. (1976). The Guinness Book...
LargestorganismsLargest prehistoric animals List of largest birds List of largest cats List of largest fish List of largest plants List of largest reptiles...
extremes Extremes on Earth Extreme points of Earth List of weather records Organisms List of longest-living organisms Smallest organismsLargestorganisms...
extremes Extremes on Earth Extreme points of Earth List of weather records Organisms List of longest-living organisms Smallest organismsLargestorganisms...
Fishlake National Forest of Utah, is considered one of the oldest and largestorganisms in the world. Recent estimates set the colony's age at several thousand...
with other larger organisms; some of which are mutually beneficial (mutualism), while others can be damaging to the host organism (parasitism). If microorganisms...
35,000 tons. If this colony is considered a single organism, it is one of the largest known organisms in the world by area, only knowingly rivalled by a...
method of dispersion, and helps it to spread over greater distances. Largestorganisms Volland, Jean-Marie; Gonzalez-Rizzo, Silvina; Gros, Olivier; Tyml...
extremes Extremes on Earth Extreme points of Earth List of weather records Organisms List of longest-living organisms Smallest organismsLargestorganisms...
(3 ft) or more Mother of the Forest Discovery Tree The House (trees) Largestorganisms Kings Canyon National Park Yosemite National Park Calaveras Big Trees...
5 mph), but they can run at recorded speeds of up to 24 km/h (15 mph). Largestorganisms Entries are ordered by the median or mean body mass (in that order...
off the coast of Scotland, near Rockall. It is one of the largest single-celled organisms known, at up to 20 centimetres (8 in) across. It was first...
954 meters (9,692 ft) The largest lake: Laguna de Bay, Luzon, 911–949 square kilometers (352–366 sq mi) surface area The largest island: Luzon, 109,965 square...
across species (creating transgenic organisms), and even across kingdoms. Creating a genetically modified organism is a multi-step process. Genetic engineers...
Prairie City, and Hines. The Malheur National Forest contains the largest known organism (by area) in the world: an Armillaria ostoyae (fungus) that spans...
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