Harriet the tortoise, one of the oldest animals in the world who some claim was studied by the pioneering 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin, has died in Australia at 175 years of age.

The giant Galapagos tortoise passed away from heart failure after a short illness, according to an Australian vet.

The 330lb tortoise hatched on the Galapagos Islands in 1830, but lived at Australia Zoo in southeast Queensland during the final 17 years of her life.

John Hangar, a senior vet, said that Harriet died last night.

"She had been sick yesterday with, in effect, heart failure," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"She had a very fairly acute heart attack and thankfully passed away quietly overnight."

Harriet, who was originally mistaken for a male tortoise and called Harry for more than a century, was named the world’s oldest living animal in the Guiness Book of Records. When she was DNA tested, scientists were able to say she was born around 1830 – five years prior to Darwin’s visit to the Galapagos archipelago.

In 1835, he took several young giant Galapagos tortoises back to London to study on board HMS Beagle, but researchers later were of the belief Harriet belonged to a sub-species of tortoise only found on an island that Darwin had not visited.

"It’s thought she may have been taken off there (Galapagos) by Charles Darwin," John Hangar said. "She’s spent a period of time in Britain and found herself at the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane from about 1850 or 1860 onwards and eventually she found her way up to Australia Zoo."

Keepers at the zoo who cared for Harriet attributed her longevity to a stress-free life.

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