'Jonathan' is the oldest land animal on Earth
Scientists have sequenced the genome of Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise, to uncover the biological secrets behind his extreme longevity. The study identified unique gene variants related to DNA repair, insulin regulation, and mitochondrial function that may contribute to his survival.
Why it matters
Understanding the genetic mechanisms of extreme longevity in animals could provide valuable insights into human aging processes and age-related diseases.
Jonathan the tortoise, the world’s oldest living land animal, is still chugging along at the ripe age of roughly 194. Now, scientists have discovered some of the secrets to Jonathan’s longevity by sequencing his genome for the first time, according to a study published Wednesday in Science Advances .
Jonathan, a Aldabra giant tortoise ( Aldabrachelys gigantea ), hatched around 1832 in the Seychelles archipelago, and he was already in his twenties when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species . In his fifties, Jonathan was brought to the remote island of Saint Helena, along with three other tortoises, as a gift to the British colonial governor in the 1880s. He has lived there ever since.
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