The largest study of its kind reveals that wild turtles age slowly, live long lives, and uncovers several species that practically do not age Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise, who is 190 years old, made headlines recently for being the 'oldest living land animal in the world.' Although there
The research team also discovered that protective phenotypes, like the hard shells of most turtle species, might delay the aging process and, in some circumstances, even stop biological aging.
A photo of a painted turtle , a widespread North American species of freshwater turtle. Credit: Beth A. Reinke, Northeastern Illinois University In their study, the researchers used mark-recapture data, in which animals are taken, tagged, released back into the wild, and then watched, in conjunction with comparative phylogenetic approaches, which allow for investigation of organisms’ evolution. Their purpose was to compare ectotherm aging and lifespan in the wild to endotherms and investigate earlier assumptions about aging, such as manner of body temperature control and the presence or absence of protective physical features.
“We didn’t find support for the idea that a lower metabolic rate means ectotherms are aging slower,” said Miller. “That relationship was only true for turtles, which suggests that turtles are unique among ectotherms.” Beth Reinke, first author and assistant professor of biology, at Northeastern Illinois University, further explained, “These various protective mechanisms can reduce animals’ mortality rates because they’re not getting eaten by other animals. Thus, they’re more likely to live longer, and that exerts pressure to age more slowly. We found the biggest support for the protective phenotype hypothesis in turtles. Again, this demonstrates that turtles, as a group, are unique.
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