Although it appears to be multiple trees,Pando is a clonal colony of an individualquaking aspen with an interconnected root system. It is widely held to be the world's most massive single organism.
This article lists thelargestorganisms for various types of life and mostly considersextant 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 evengenome size. Some organisms group together to form asuperorganism (such asants orbees), but such are not classed as single large organisms. TheGreat 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 areclonal colonies which can spread over large areas.Pando, a clonal colony of thequaking 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 thegiant sequoia being the most massive tree.[2] In 2006, a hugeclonal colony of theseagrassPosidonia oceanica was discovered south of the island ofIbiza. At 8 kilometres (5 mi) across, and estimated at 100,000 years old,[3] it may be one of the largest andoldest clonal colonies on Earth.[4][5][6]
Amonganimals, the largest species are allmarine mammals, specificallywhales. Theblue whale is believed to be the largest animal to have ever lived.[7] The living land animal classification is also dominated bymammals, with theAfrican bush elephant being the largest of these.
The largest single-stem tree by wood volume and mass is thegiant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), native to California's Sierra Nevada; it typically grows to a height of 70–85 m (230–280 ft) and 5–7 m (16–23 ft) in diameter.
The largest organism in the world, according to mass, is theaspen tree whose colonies of clones can grow up to 8 kilometres (5 mi) in size. The largest such colony isPando, in theFishlake National Forest in Utah.
A form of flowering plant that far exceeds Pando as the largest organism on Earth in area and potentially also mass, is the giant marine plant,Posidonia australis, living inShark Bay, Australia. Its length is about 180 km (112 mi) and it covers an area of 200 km2 (77 sq mi).[8][9] It is also among theoldest known clonal plants.
Another giant marine plant of the genusPosidonia,Posidonia oceanica discovered in the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands, Spain may be theoldest living organism in the world, with an estimated age of 100,000 years.[10]
Green algae are photosynthetic unicellular and multicellulargreen plants that are related to land plants. Thethallus of the unicellular mermaid's wineglass,Acetabularia, can grow to several inches (perhaps 0.1 to 0.2 m) in length. The fronds of the similarly unicellular, and invasiveCaulerpa taxifolia can grow up to a foot (0.3 m) long.[citation needed]
The largest animal currently alive is theblue whale. The maximum recorded weight was 190tonnes (209 US tons) for a specimen measuring 27.6 metres (91 ft), whereas longer ones, up to 33 metres (108 ft), have been recorded but not weighed.[11][12][13] It is estimated that this individual could have a mass of 250tonnes or more.[14][15][16] The longest non-colonial animal is thelion's mane jellyfish (37 m, 120 ft).[17]
In 2023, paleontologists estimated that the extinct whalePerucetus, discovered in Peru, may have outweighed the blue whale, with a mass of 85 to 340 t (94–375 short tons; 84–335 long tons).[18] However, more recent studies suggest this whale was much smaller than previous estimates, putting its weight at 60 to 113 tonnes.[19] While controversial, estimates for the weight of thesauropodBruhathkayosaurus suggest it was around 110–170 tons, with the highest estimate being 240 tons, if scaled withPatagotitan, although actual fossil remains no longer exist, and that estimation is based on described dimensions in 1987.[20] In April 2024,Ichthyotitan severnensis was established as a validshastasaurid taxon and is considered both the largest marine reptile ever discovered and the largest macropredator ever discovered. The Lilstock specimen was estimated to be around 26 metres (85 ft) whilst the Aust specimen was an even more impressive 30 to 35 metres (98 to 115 ft) in length. While no weight estimates have been made as of yet,Ichthyotitan would have easily rivalled or surpassed the blue whale.[21][22] The upper estimates of weight for these prehistoric animals would have easily rivaled or exceeded the largest rorquals and sauropods.[23]
TheAfrican bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest living land animal. A native of various open habitats in sub-Saharan Africa, males weigh about 6.0 tonnes (13,200 lb) on average.[24] The largest elephant ever recorded was shot inAngola in 1974. It was a male measuring 10.67 metres (35.0 ft) from trunk to tail and 4.17 metres (13.7 ft) lying on its side in a projected line from the highest point of the shoulder, to the base of the forefoot, indicating a standing shoulder height of 3.96 metres (13.0 ft). This male had a computed weight of 10.4 to 12.25 tonnes.[11]
A spatial genetic analysis estimated that a specimen ofArmillaria ostoyae growing over 91 acres (37 ha) in northernMichigan, United States weighs 440tons (4 x 105 kg).[29][30]
InArmillaria ostoyae, each individual mushroom (the fruiting body, similar to a flower on a plant) has only a 5 cm (2.0 in) stipe, and a pileus up to 12.5 cm (4.9 in) across. There are many other fungi which produce a larger individual size mushroom. The largest known fruiting body of a fungus is a specimen ofPhellinus ellipsoideus (formerlyFomitiporia ellipsoidea) found onHainan Island.[31] The fruiting body masses up to 500 kg (1,100 lb).[32][33]
UntilP. ellipsoideus replaced it, the largest individual fruit body came fromRigidoporus ulmarius.R. ulmarius can grow up to 284 kg (626 lb), 1.66 m (5.4 ft) tall, 1.46 m (4.8 ft) across, and has a circumference of up to 4.9 m (16 ft).
Umbilicaria mammulata is among the largest lichens in the world. Thethallus ofU. mammulata is usually 4 to 15 cm (1.6 to 5.9 in) in diameter, but specimens have been known to reach 63-centimetre (2.07 ft) in theSmoky Mountains ofTennessee.[34]
The longest lichen isUsnea longissima, which may grow to exceed 20 feet (6.1 m) in length.[35]
The largest known species ofbacterium is namedThiomargarita magnifica, which grows to 1 cm (0.39 in) in length,[42] making it visible to the naked eye and also about five thousand times the size of more typicalbacteria.[43]BBC News described it as possessing the "size and shape of a humaneyelash."[44]Science published a new paper on the bacterium on June 23, 2022.[45] According to a study coauthored by Jean-Marie Volland, a marine biologist and scientist at California's Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems, and an affiliate at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute,T. magnifica can grow up to 2 centimeters long.[46]
A collection of viruses along with the bacteriumE. coli, includingM. horridgei - the largest virus
The largest virus on record isMegaklothovirus horridgei, with the length of 4 micrometres, comparable to the typical size of a bacterium and large enough to be seen in light microscopes. It was discovered in 2018 (being mistaken forbristles beforehand), having been found on anarrow worm in the genusSpadella.[48] Prior to this discovery, the largest virus was the peculiar virus genusPandoravirus, which have a size of approximately 1micrometer and whose genome contains 1,900,000 to 2,500,000 base pairs of DNA.[49]
^Anderson, A.; Sand, C.; Petchey, F.; Worthy, T. H. (2010). "Faunal extinction and human habitation in New Caledonia: Initial results and implications of new research at the Pindai Caves".Journal of Pacific Archaeology.1 (1):89–109.hdl:10289/5404.
^Dai, Y. C.; Cui, B. K. (2011). "Fomitiporia ellipsoidea has the largest fruiting body among the fungi".Fungal Biology.115 (9):813–814.doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2011.06.008.PMID21872178.
^Barthélémy, Roxane-Marie (8 January 2019). "Serendipitous Discovery in a Marine Invertebrate (Phylum Chaetognatha) of the Longest Giant Viruses Reported till Date".Biology.
