A Portuguese scientific study that lasted four years, conducted by the University of Algarve, found the oldest living creature in the biosphere.
Is not a weed, nor is a seaweed, look like a green tuft, but it is the oldest creature on the planet. It is the posidonic oceanic, a plant species that proliferates in the ocean floor and according to a Luso-Spanish team, led by the University of Algarve it can reach 100 thousand years of age or older. The recent discovery has been raised in a study led by scientist and teacher, Esther Serrao, which aimed to measure the coverage area of a single living being, to study their genetic diversity and to estimate its age by the annual growth of the organism.
The species is common in the submarine meadows, replicating themselves on the ocean floor again and again, through cloning. This fact was proved by this scientific project by analyzing several seeds of these marine plants, which concluded that they belong to the same individual. Although, Posidonia oceanica is still visible in the deeps of the Mediterranean Sea, has been disappearing "at a rate which is estimated at ten percent in the last 100 years, mainly due to the turbidity of the water caused by marine pollution, reminding that this sea grass feeds on sunlight, as does photosynthesis. It is a plant essential to the development of biodiversity in southern Europe, is essential for growth and development of various fish species, such as a link in the oceanic food chain "as the mentor of the study said.
