Oldest living thing on Earth discovered in Mediterranean Sea

Oldest living thing (Photo: WeeklyWorldNews)

The oldest living thing in the planet is believed to have been discovered in the Mediterranean Sea.

A group of researchers from The University of Western Australia's Ocean's Institute has confirmed that an ancient seagrass holds the secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth. They dated the species as up to 200,000 years old.

The ancient seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, reproduces asexually and generates clones of itself - among the reasons why it is able to reach such old age.

"Clonal organisms have an extraordinary capacity to transmit only 'highly competent' genomes, through generations, with potentially no end," said Director of UWA's Oceans' Institute Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte.

The single organism has been found to stretch up to 15 kilometers in width and to weigh more than 6,000 metric tons.

The scientists studied 1544 samples of the seagrass from a total of 40 locations across the Mediterranean Sea, spanning more than 2,000 miles from Spain to Cyprus. They believe that the organism has a minimum age estimate between 80,000 and 200,000 years, beating the current oldest species Lomatia tasmanica, a Tasmanian plant that is believed to be 43,000 years old.

Although the organism is able to survive in harsh conditions, scientists believe the seagrass is nevertheless declining due to global climate change.

"If climate change continues, the outlook for this species is very bad," Professor Duarte told the Telegraph. "The seagrass in the Mediterranean is already in clear decline due to shoreline construction and declining water quality and this decline has been exacerbated by climate change.