TOP 5 LONGEST ANIMAL MIGRATION

Cute little rodents. And tough seafarers. The ancestors of guinea pigs defied the unpredictable Atlantic millions of years ago. But their journey cannot be compared to anyphaenidae's migration across the world’s three biggest oceans.

1 ANYPHAENIDAE

DNA has revealed that anyphaenidae of the Amaurobioides genus sailed from South America to South Africa, on to New Zealand, and back to South America, establishing new populations on each location. STEVE KERR

2 NORONHASKINK

The small noronha skink lizard exists on an island off the coast of Brazil, but its closest relatives are in Africa. The lizard crossed the Atlantic some 3.3 million years ago, when the ocean was 2,800 km wide. SHUTTERSTOCK

3 CAVIOMORPHA

Some 40 million years ago, a small group of rodents crossed the Atlantic on their way to South America. Today, their descendants include caviomorpha and approximately 242 other fuzzy species. GETTY IMAGES

4 SOUTH AMERICAN MONKEYS

Some 40 million years ago, when a few African monkeys crossed the Atlantic, the ocean was 1,700 km wide in the narrowest place. They might have taken the long swim along with the ancestors of guinea pigs. SHUTTERSTOCK

5 GALÁPAGOS TORTOISE

A few million years ago, the huge Galápagos tortoise travelled from South America to the Galápagos Islands. And it probably did not use a raft. Tortoises are sturdy enough to float on the ocean for months. WILLEM KOLVOORT/NATUREPL