Nature is magical, it gives every creature different characteristics. Some of them are agile, some of them are slow-moving, many of them are tall and powerful, and many of them are small but have developed brains. When it comes to longevity, I believe many people will blurt out: turtle or whale! Turtles and whales generally live a long life. Although they are slow in action and have amazing endurance, what we are introducing today is not turtles nor whales. It is not only one of the largest in its species, but also has an unexpected life span. It is Greenland shark!
On earth, few people set foot in the mysterious polar waters, where scientists have found a group of Greenland sharks that often haunt nearby. This kind of shark is huge in size and extremely ugly in appearance. It can reach about 5 meters in length. It is not only slow in movement, but also poisonous in meat. For a long time, this kind of shark has not attracted the attention of the public. Until the discovery of scientists, this special creature appeared in the audience’s field of vision. A foreign professor once said: “Greenland sharks are the largest known predatory sharks in the world, and their dominant position can not be shaken. However, as the top of the marine food chain, their position in the Arctic ecosystem has been completely ignored.”. Greenland shark is the longest lived vertebrate on the earth. Its average life span can reach 272 years, and the longest one even reaches more than 400 years! This means that this shark was born in the Ming Dynasty of China! If there is a world cup among the sharks, the Greenland shark is expected to witness 100 World Cup finals.
Experts in related fields have done several studies on Greenland sharks. One of the most interesting experiments is that this creature is very special. Although it has a long life span, its “adult” age is also very long. All pregnant Greenland sharks are over 150 years old. If one lives to 80 years old, then the maturity of Greenland sharks will take nearly two lives!
Next, let’s take a look at some of the longest lived creatures. The most interesting one is the last one.
1. Humpback whale
In 2007, a humpback whale was caught in the cold waters near the Arctic. After scientific verification by experts, the humpback whale has a special natural anti-aging element in its body, which is slow in aging and almost will not get cancer. The humpback whale was determined to be 211 years old, breaking a record and becoming the world’s oldest mammal.
2. Elephant turtle
Tortoise is a kind of land animals, the average age of life is very large, they mainly gather in the Pacific and Indian Ocean Islands. In 2006, there was a tortoise estimated to be 255 years old in Calcutta zoo. The age of the tortoise is amazing. The tortoise is also the only terrestrial animal known to live longer than 200 years in the world.
3. Arctic clam
Speaking of the longest living creature on earth, it is the Arctic clam in Northern Iceland! The Arctic clam is one of the longest living creatures found on the earth. A clam found in Northern Iceland has a life span of 507 years, according to scientists! The scientists were very excited and gave the clam a name, Ming.
There are still many long-lived creatures on the earth, such as tortoises on land or Greenland sharks swimming in the ocean. Some of them are sparsely populated, but they are part of the earth like us. At present, the number of endangered species in the world is also increasing rapidly. Some of them have survived a “tribe”, and some of them may only have a few. As we belong to the same earth, we should consciously protect the environment of the whole “big family” and give our future generations a more beautiful world.