Sea turtle how long live

And long-lived species like marine turtles may outlive generations of researchers. The team validated their method by comparing the results with known lifespans of animal species. And they also calculated the lifespans of some extinct animals. The team looked at the human genome and as a result they discovered our maximum natural lifespan is 38 years. But human lifespan has likely been extended over time due to changes in lifestyle and medical advances.

A Hawksbill sea turtle swimming at Ningaloo Reef. Credit: Mat Vanderklift. It helps control when genes are switched on and off.

Green sea turtles were also the only species with a publicly available genome sequence. The flatback sea turtle was named for its uniquely flat shell, which differs from the curved shells of other sea turtles.

Flatbacks have the smallest distribution of all sea turtles and are only found in the waters near Australia and Papua New Guinea — they only breed and nest in Australia. Due to their remote habitat, flatbacks have not been as thoroughly studied as the other species of sea turtle. Flatbacks lay the largest eggs of any sea turtle, but only lay about half as many eggs as the other species. Aside from threats from humans, flatbacks are preyed on by saltwater crocodiles, dingos, foxes, sand monitor lizards, feral pigs, pelicans, and night herons.

Age of Species: about 45 million years Average Lifespan: 80 or more years Location: Tropical and subtropical waters around the world Diet: Adults are herbivorous — sea grasses and algae; juveniles are omnivorous — invertebrates like crabs, jellyfish, and sponges. Unlike other sea turtles, the green turtle has only a single pair of scales in front of its eyes, instead of the two pairs of other hard shell sea turtles. Despite the misconception, green turtles were not named for the color of their shells , which are not always green, but for the color of their greenish skin.

Green turtles are typically divided into two subspecies, the green turtle Chelonia mydas mydas and the black or Eastern Pacific green turtle Chelonia mydas agassizii. There is an ongoing debate over whether or not the two subspecies are actually two separate species. Another unique feature of the green turtle is that its diet changes drastically as it ages. Juvenile green turtles are omnivorous and will eat worms, crustaceans, jellyfish, grasses, and algae; when they become adults, green turtles are strictly herbivorous.

Archelon ischyros , commonly called just Archelon, is probably the most famous ancient sea turtle outside of scientific circles. Archelon has become famous for being the largest turtle that has ever been discovered — the largest fossil measures more than 13 feet 4 m in length and is 16 feet about 5 m wide.

The first and one of the most complete Archelon specimens was discovered in by Dr. George R. Like the leatherback, Archelon had a flexible and thin shell that was spread over a ribbed frame. Archelon also had large and very wide flippers, which helped propel it through water. While its difficult to determine how long Archelon turtles typically lived, one specimen from the Vienna Museum of Natural History is estimated to have died when it was about years old.

Age of Species: Unknown for sure — lineage arose between 90 — million years ago Average Lifespan: 45 years Location: World wide open ocean, as far north as Alaska and as far south as the southern tip of Africa Diet: Soft-bodied animals, especially jellyfish; seaweed; fish; crustaceans; and other marine invertebrates.

Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters. Of the seven remaining species of sea turtles, the leatherback is the most unique and is the only surviving member of the Family Dermochelyidae. Leatherbacks have several unique features different from all other modern sea turtles, the most notable is its soft, flexible, rubbery, leather back. Additionally, leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle and the largest living reptile found anywhere in the world.

The evolutionary answer is relatively straightforward: Animals such as snakes and raccoons love to eat turtle eggs. To pass on their genes, turtles have to live a long time and breed frequently, sometimes multiple times per year — and lay a lot of eggs. One clue to turtles' longevity lies in their telomeres, structures composed of noncoding strands of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes , Neuman-Lee said.

These structures help protect the chromosomes as cells divide. Over time, telomeres get shorter or degrade, which means they can no longer protect their chromosomes as well, leading to issues with DNA replication. And errors in DNA replication can lead to issues such as tumors and cell death. But turtles exhibit a lower rate of telomere shortening compared with shorter-lived animals, Neuman-Lee said. This means they're more resistant to certain kinds of damage that can arise from DNA-replication errors.

Scientists haven't confirmed all of the factors that contribute to turtles' long lives, but they have proposed some ideas.

In a paper posted July 8 to the preprint database bioRxiv that has not yet been peer-reviewed, a team of scientists explored a number of mechanisms and substances that lead to cell damage and death, and looked at how cells from several turtle species, including from a giant tortoise like Jonathan , responded. According to the paper, giant tortoises and a few other turtle species seem to be able to protect themselves from the long-term effects of cell damage.