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187 year old tortoise in 1886 and today
Link to tweet
?s=21
Look at this adorable little guy! I just want to rub his shell and tell him he’s a goooood booooooyyyyy.
Now I feel bad for ever comparing McConnell to a turtle lol
25 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Wonder if it's a record?
Rock steady, Jonathan!
A little more about Jonathan:
From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_(tortoise)#/media/File%3AJohnathan_and_another_tortoise_%2C_St_Helena.png
Jonathan (hatched c. 1832 (186−187 years old)[1][2] is a Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa), a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), and the oldest known living terrestrial animal in the world.[3] Jonathan resides on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Jonathan (left) with another giant tortoise (1886)[4][1]
Jonathan was brought to the island from the Seychelles in 1882, along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age. He was named in the 1930s by Governor Sir Spencer Davis. He continues to live on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor, and belongs to the government of Saint Helena.
His age is estimated by the fact that he was 'fully mature' when brought to St. Helena in 1882. 'Fully mature' means at least 50 years old, giving him a hatching date no later than 1832. A photograph featuring Jonathan originally thought to date from 1902 actually dates from 1886,[4][1] showing Jonathan four years after his arrival on St. Helena. Measurements taken from the photograph show that he was definitely fully mature in 1886. On 5 December 2008 the Daily Mail published an article about Jonathan and claimed that he is the same tortoise depicted in the photograph,[5] getting the year of the photograph wrong but estimating his date of hatching correctly. The article also erroneously stated that Jonathan was of the species Testudinipae cytodira. This appears to be a double misspelling as well as a reference not to his species, but rather to his family Testudinidae, and suborder Cryptodira, respectively.
[...]
Jonathan (left) with another giant tortoise (1886)[4][1]
Jonathan was brought to the island from the Seychelles in 1882, along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age. He was named in the 1930s by Governor Sir Spencer Davis. He continues to live on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor, and belongs to the government of Saint Helena.
His age is estimated by the fact that he was 'fully mature' when brought to St. Helena in 1882. 'Fully mature' means at least 50 years old, giving him a hatching date no later than 1832. A photograph featuring Jonathan originally thought to date from 1902 actually dates from 1886,[4][1] showing Jonathan four years after his arrival on St. Helena. Measurements taken from the photograph show that he was definitely fully mature in 1886. On 5 December 2008 the Daily Mail published an article about Jonathan and claimed that he is the same tortoise depicted in the photograph,[5] getting the year of the photograph wrong but estimating his date of hatching correctly. The article also erroneously stated that Jonathan was of the species Testudinipae cytodira. This appears to be a double misspelling as well as a reference not to his species, but rather to his family Testudinidae, and suborder Cryptodira, respectively.
[...]
I would rather that everyone forgets that Moscow Mitch ever even existed. The world could have done without him, that's for sure. This being said, yeah, it sure feels like Moscow Mitch is going to stick. It has a better ring to it than Cocaine Mitch.
Whatta guy!
Long live Jonathan!
If Lizard People exist, he's one of them - no doubt about it.
