The lifespan of a whale is 50 to 75 years. A whale that falls into the deep sea can maintain a life on the high seas for 50 to 75 years.
Whale Fall refers to the phenomenon where whales sink to the bottom of the sea after death. When a whale dies in the ocean, its body eventually sinks to the ocean floor, and biologists give this process the name whale fall. A single whale carcass can support a decomposer-based circulatory system for hundreds of years.
Expansion of knowledge:
In 1998, researchers at the University of Hawaii discovered that there were at least 12,490 organisms of 43 species in the deep waters of the North Pacific. They depend on whales to survive. Some of these sea creatures, including clams, worms and rare species of blind shrimp, eat the remains little by little alongsidethe carcass.
These whales are chemoautotrophic, meaning they can produce their own food through chemical reactions. Chemoautotrophy is similar to photosynthesis in plants, except that it does not require access to sunlight (because sunlight cannot pass through deep water).
Digging deeper into this new ecosystem phenomenon, scientists discovered that the bacteria feed on whale bones, which contain 60% fat. The bacteria then produce hydrogen sulfide, a chemical that smells like rotten eggs. Thousands of chemoautotrophic marine organisms then convert the hydrogen sulfide into the energy needed for their growth and reproduction.
It was reported on April 3, 2020 that Chinese scientists first discovered an approximately 3-meter-long whale fall in the South China Sea. The af expertsfirm that fewer than 50 modern natural colonies of whales have been discovered worldwide.
The unique ecosystem of whale falls has also produced unique organisms. Scientists have discovered two new species of worms in whale falls: the bone-eating worm Osedax frankpressi and the bone-eating worm Osedax rubiplumus. which live on whale bones and look like water-striped glow sticks.
At first, the researchers thought they had discovered only the female of the new species, but they soon realized that the male was inside the female, where he reproduced quickly.
During the second stage of the whale's fall, these bone-eating worms begin to attach themselves to the whale's skeleton and produce thousands of larvae, which float in the ocean until 'until they encounter another whale fall, then begin. start the process again. These are onlyows of 16 new species identified by scientists in whale falls.
No. The longest lifespan of sea turtles is around 150 years. Although they already live a very long time, they are not the longest-living animals in the ocean.
Marine animals that live longer than turtles:
1.
In 2007, an Alaskan whaler captured a whale, and its bones actually contained fragments of a whaling dart made around 1890. It appears that this long-lived whale escaped to disaster that year and will live longer.More than 0 years. According to records, the longest lifespan of this type of whale is 211 years.
2. Icelandic arctic clam.
In the Guinness Book of World Records, a 220-year-old specimen was collected in 1982. The growth patterns on the shells of this animal resemble tree rings, growing once a year.year. In 2005, German researchers analyzed the shell of a 374-year-old Icelandic Arctic clam and concluded the history of climate change since the late 15th century, including the "Little Ice Age" from 1550 to 1620 and the he Indonesian volcanic eruption of 1815. What's even more astonishing is that in 2006, British scientists captured large numbers of Icelandic Arctic clams from the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The one with the most growth lines was actually 405 years old, and was still in China during the Wanli period. Ming Dynasty, when it was born, apparently, sea turtles were far away.
3. Lighthouse jellyfish.
Turritopsis nutricula (scientific name: Turritopsis nutricula): It is a small jellyfish. The body is bell-shaped, approximately 4 to 5 mm in diameter. The body is transparent and the red digestive system is visible. It looks like a lighthouse, hence its name. The lighthouse jellyfish's stomach is hugeand bright red, with a cross-shaped cross section. Normal jellyfish will die after sexual reproduction, but lighthouse jellyfish can return to the polyp form. This is called differentiation transfer. Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of times this process can occur, and this jellyfish can achieve an unlimited lifespan through repeated normal reproduction and transdifferentiation. This is why it is also called the “immortal jellyfish”. To be more precise, it should be “rejuvenation”. Lighthouse jellyfish are “immortal” unless eaten by other animals.