This is a weird little fact which I've known for a while, but I thought readers might get a kick out of it. What is the longest-lived vertebrate individual which we have records to the extent that we can confirm with a high degree of certitude? You can guess the age and the rough species, but click below the fold for the answer. As hints I will state that the age was in excess of 150 years, and that the individual was not a tortoise.
It was a koi named Hanako who made it to the age of 226 years. Hanako was born in 1751, and died in 1977. (I notice this was posted on Boing Boing, so likely many of you already know this)
