Top 5 largest living organisms on earth

Largest living organisms; Talking about the largest organism is a complex task. There are animals longer than the blue whale,

By Ground report 05 Feb 2024

New Update

Scientists know about 1.5 million animal species, but they believe that almost nine million exist in total — with many still undiscovered. Some, like the bumblebee bat, are incredibly small, being just over an inch long and weighing less than a penny.

Others, such as the colossal squid, are enormous, weighing over 1,000 pounds and reaching lengths of over 45 feet. But, gigantic animals were much more prevalent millions of years ago than today. Let's examine some of the largest ones.

The largest living being in the world is 880 hectares. Do not expect to find a monster with large jaws, the largest living being in the world is a fungus. However, it must be specified that it is the largest being for all the land it occupies, but not for the mass it possesses.

First up, the planet's brawniest blossom.

Honey Fungus – (Armillaria ostoyae)

Size: 2.4 miles²
Location: Oregon, USA
Type: Fungus
Unique Trait: Yellow “honey” color

The largest and heaviest organism in the world is not a plant, but a fungus. It is located in the Malheur National Forest, in eastern Oregon. Fungi can grow massively underground, expanding their mycelia and colonizing plant roots on their way, and they only become evident when they produce the fruiting bodies, with a reproductive function, that we call mushrooms.

publive-image — Living in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Source: wikimedia.org

The honey fungus is the largest organism in the world. Living in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, the honey fungus occupies an area as large as 1,665 entire football fields! This fungus is actually parasitic and can infect entire forests – the results of testing samples from 112 dying trees were what led to the discovery of this amazing organism.

Quaking Aspen – (Populus tremuloides)

Size: 106 acres
Location: North America
Type: Plant
Unique Trait: Creates same-gender clones

This is Pando, a clonal colony of trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides ), which although it looks like a massive set of trees, all are, in reality, the same genetically identical individual and formed by a massive network of interconnected roots, with multiple trunks. Specifically, it is a male of more than 6,000 tons of estimated weight.

At 80,000 years old, Pando, a glorious clonal colony of male aspen trees, is said to be one of the oldest known living organisms on Earth.

Blue Whale – (Balaenoptera musculus)

Size: 110 feet long
Location: Arctic and Antarctic Oceans
Type: Aquatic Mammal
Unique Trait: Baleen

The blue whale with 180 tons of weight is, without a doubt, the heaviest animal that currently exists. If we take into account its 33 meters in length , it is also the longest mammal. However, there are other animals in the sea that are longer than the blue giant, although they are much lighter.

The mouth of the blue whale can contain up to 800 plates of black baleen, which serve to filter its only food, krill, out of the ocean waters.

Whale Shark – (Rhincodon typus)

Size: 56 feet long
Location: All Tropical Seas
Type: Fish
Unique Trait: Plankton Diet

The largest fish in the world, the whale shark is the only member of the Rhincodon genus. The massive whale shark sports an impressive set of 300 teeth, but it doesn't use them to eat; instead, it eats mostly plankton and other small types of marine life. Along with its staggering size, this huge shark's wide, blunt snout also sets it apart visually from other types of sharks.

Colossal Squid – (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni)

Size: 46 feet long
Location: Antarctic Waters
Type: Invertebrate
Unique Trait: Bioluminescence

In terms of backboneless creatures, the aptly named colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) trumps all others when it comes to size. The largest species of squid in the world and the largest invertebrate on the planet, they can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and can grow up to 30 feet long. Yep, that's a 30-foot-long squid, packed with a killer beak, sucker-covered tentacles, and arms armed with razor-sharp claws.