268-year-old whale could be out in sea that is 25 years older than US

The Bowhead whale was previously known to have an average life span of 211 years, but Australian researchers have used a genetic 'clock' to predict that these animals can live nearly 60 years longer than what was previously known. This means that the average life-span of a Bowhead whale is 268 years.

Whale older than the United States of America

Researchers use amino acids in the eyes of whales to determine the age of the whales. The researchers also used a method called methylation which is a chemical process that is used to predict the life expectancy of whales. Dr Benjamin Mayne, the author of the study said that vertebrates can have very varying lifespans, from a tropical fish called pygmy goby that lives for only 8 weeks to Bowhead whales that can live for 268 years. Dr Mayne added that this new technique can help save these animals from extinction, this method can only be used to determine the lifespan of species and not of individuals. The method also only provides averages.

This new discovery could mean that there are whales out there that could possibly be 25 years older than the United States. In 2007 a Bowhead whale washed ashore that had a 200-year-old harpoon lodged in it. The researchers also determined that the natural life-span of early modern humans is only 38 years.

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A different study on whales recently found that the size of a whale is determined by how many calories they can take in. That’s the conclusion of researchers who used small boats to chase down 300 whales of various species around the world. They reached out with a long pole to attach sensors to the creatures with suction cups, allowing them to record what the animals were doing on their dives for food.

The results suggest body size is controlled by how whales capture prey and how much food is available, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Science. The study included 90 blue whales, the biggest animal ever to live. Size estimates vary, but the American Cetacean Society says blue whales can grow about 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh more than 100 tons (91,000 kilograms). The study also included the biggest whale with teeth, the sperm whale, which can stretch about 60 feet (18 meters) long, the group says.

The blue whale can be bigger because it feeds in a much different and highly efficient way, the study says. It opens its mouth wide and engulfs an immense volume of water, even bigger than its body size, as it swims along. Then it closes its mouth and strains the water out through a sieve-like filter, which traps huge amounts of tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill.

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