Detect the earth's oldest creatures

Vast ocean of grass species was 200,000 years old

The vast seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea is considered the oldest organisms after earth scientists determine the age of up to 200,000 years old.



Scientists in Australia have arranged the DNA samples of giant seaweed called "Posidonia ocean" from 40 underwater grass in an area of ​​more than 3,200 km from Spain to Cyprus.

The analysis, published in the journal PLoS ONE shows that seaweeds from 12,000 to 200,000 years old, and most popular tree about 100,000 years old.

Results of our age is much larger than the old grass species named Tasmanian previously been identified as the longest living earth - only 43,000 years old.

Professor Carlos Duarte, University of Western Australia for more trim grasses can reach such age record because they can reproduce asexually and create their own copy. Such organisms reproduce sexually only inevitably lost each generation, he added.

"We are constantly producing new branches. They spread quite slowly and cover a large area to facilitate the more additional nutrients. We can store nutrients in the major tributaries during difficult constraints to development, "said Carlos Duarte said.
Arrays are separated in the Mediterranean spread out around 16km and weighs over 6,000 tons.