R.I.P. Harriet : 1830-2006

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

Harriet, the world's oldest tortoise, dies aged 176
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060623/od_afp/australiaanimal_060623102146;_ylt=Ave_b4Ps2r9TGXqs 5nZIVIoFO7gF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--zoo

ETA: Yeah, I misspelled the name in the thread title. So sue me.

[Meffy]

When Harriet was born: Greece regained independence from the Ottoman Empire; Joseph Smith, Jr. and others founded Mormonism; Belgium revolted, leaving the Netherlands; Berlioz brought a nightmarish vision to music with the Symphonie Fantastique; Emily Dickinson was born too, but she didn't live as long as Harriet.

That's a long life, lived slowly.

[This Guy]

That is indeed a long life!

Anything live longer than tortoises?

I'm thinking they hold the record by a pretty good margin.

[Meffy]

Not land animals. ISTR that (barring violent or accidental death) it's possible for some sea creatures to live more or less indefinitely, growing the whole time. But determining the ages of such critters, if and when they're found, could be tricky.

[pchams]

Very interesting.
I think I recall a documentary about giant squid that claimed that they might live very long lives as well.
I'll have to check.

[Johnny Pneumatic]

Anything live longer than tortoises?



Redwood trees. I'm also fairly sure that hydras are thought to be basically immortal, if nothing happens to eat them that is.

[This Guy]

Not land animals. ISTR that (barring violent or accidental death) it's possible for some sea creatures to live more or less indefinitely, growing the whole time. But determining the ages of such critters, if and when they're found, could be tricky.

Yea, land animals was what I was wondering about.

I should have specified :boggled:

[AK-Dave]

Very interesting.
I think I recall a documentary about giant squid that claimed that they might live very long lives as well.
I'll have to check.

Most squid (and octopus and cuttlefish) have short life spans, ranging from 6 months for some tropical species to 5 years for the giant pacific octopus. Generally the colder the water, the longer they live. I don't recall ever seeing anything about the giant squid that mentioned a long lifespan, but if you want to know the most recent scientific info on them, you can ask Dr. Steve O' Shea on the tonmo.com forum. He is one of the more famous giant squid researchers (you often see him on Discovery channel.)

[AK-Dave]

the world's oldest tortoise
The oldest one for which we have a verifiable birth date.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

ETA: Yeah, I misspelled the name in the thread title. So sue me.
You did?

This is sad, yet cool.

~~ Paul

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

The oldest one for which we have a verifiable birth date.

I agree completely, I just snagged the tagline from the article. *shrug*

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

You did?

This is sad, yet cool.

~~ Paul


Hey, no fair! Now I looked doubly-wrong *pout*

[pchams]

Most squid (and octopus and cuttlefish) have short life spans, ranging from 6 months for some tropical species to 5 years for the giant pacific octopus. Generally the colder the water, the longer they live. I don't recall ever seeing anything about the giant squid that mentioned a long lifespan, but if you want to know the most recent scientific info on them, you can ask Dr. Steve O' Shea on the tonmo.com forum. He is one of the more famous giant squid researchers (you often see him on Discovery channel.)
Thanks for the clarification. I stand corrected.

[AK-Dave]

Thanks for the clarification. I stand corrected.
I did some digging through the articles posted on tonmo.com, and it appears there is no confirmed method for determining the age of a giant squid, so their lifespan is still unknown. Dr. O' Shea has attempted to raise some from babies, but I haven't looked to see how that worked out this time. The first time he tried, they all died.

-David

[pchams]

I was under the impression that collecting one juvenile was the goal.

[LibraryLady]

Don't water bears (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun00/mmbearp.html) live forever?

[AK-Dave]

I was under the impression that collecting one juvenile was the goal.

Dr. O'Shea raised some from eggs, with one living for 217 days. He even had a webcam on them, the Squidcam, but it is no longer in operation.

[AK-Dave]

Don't water bears (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun00/mmbearp.html)live forever?

I guess you could say that any animal that reproduces by fission is basically immortal.

[steve s]

Anything live longer than tortoises?

Tube worms are believed to be capable of living more than 200 years.

Steve S.

[Deetee]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was there not some evidence that this particular tortoise could not have been the one collected by the Beagle - some DNA evidence or something that pointed to it being from a different island or something?
The media seems to have decided that this is "Darwin's tortoise" and I suppose this is understandable if the aussies have been economical with the truth and have potentiated the falsehood because it is better for them and sounds more authentic.

ETA -
Ha! Thought so!
However, analysis of her mitochondrial DNA by US researchers shows she is almost certainly from Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos. The Beagle’s tortoises were taken from Espanola, Santa Maria and San Salvador.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1819757,00.html

[Zep]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was there not some evidence that this particular tortoise could not have been the one collected by the Beagle - some DNA evidence or something that pointed to it being from a different island or something?
The media seems to have decided that this is "Darwin's tortoise" and I suppose this is understandable if the aussies have been economical with the truth and have potentiated the falsehood because it is better for them and sounds more authentic.

ETA -
Ha! Thought so!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1819757,00.html
Hey! The OP article had this to say:"It's thought she may have been taken off there (Galapagos) by Charles Darwin," he 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."Please note that Darwin visited Australia after the Galapagos - the city of Darwin is named in his honour.

[Deetee]

Please note that Darwin visited Australia after the Galapagos

I guess not even Darwin was perfect....

:D :D

(PS - I'm just getting my digs in well before you deservedly thrash us in the Ashes re-run [or possibly in the World Cup - stranger things have happened])

[Rustle]

That is indeed a long life!

Anything live longer than tortoises?

I'm thinking they hold the record by a pretty good margin.

This tortoise is nothing. Before the great flood, humans used to live for over 900 years. I know its true because Kent Hovind read it in the bible so it must be true because the bible told hovind to tell me to tell you.

[Molinaro]

Greenland sharks are thought to perhaps live up to 200 years, and some scientists speculate as much as 350 years. Nobody knows for sure just yet.