Methuselah — a fish that likes to eat fresh figs and get belly rubs — is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world.
In the Bible, Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather and was said to have lived to be 969 years old.
While Methuselah the fish is not quite that ancient, biologists at the California Academy of Sciences believe that it is about 90 years old, with no known living peers.
Photo: AP
Methuselah is a 1.2m, 18.1kg Australian lungfish that was taken from Australia to the San Francisco museum in 1938.
A primitive species with lungs and gills, Australian lungfish are believed to be the evolutionary link between fish and amphibians.
No stranger to publicity, Methuselah’s first appearance in the San Francisco Chronicle was in 1947: “These strange creatures — with green scales looking like fresh artichoke leaves — are known to scientists as a possible ‘missing link’ between terrestrial and aquatic animals.”
Until a few years ago, the oldest Australian lungfish was at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, but that fish, named Granddad, died in 2017 at the age of 95.
“By default, Methuselah is the oldest,” said Allan Jan, senior biologist at the museum and the fish’s caretaker.
Methuselah’s caretakers believe that the fish is female, although it is difficult to determine the species’ sex without a risky blood draw. The museum plans to send a tiny sample of her fin to researchers in Australia, who would try to confirm the sex and figure out the fish’s exact age.
Jan said that Methuselah likes getting rubbed on her back and belly, and has a “mellow” personality.
“I tell my volunteers, pretend she’s an underwater puppy, very mellow, gentle, but of course if she gets spooked, she will have sudden bouts of energy. But for the most part she’s just calm,” Jan said.
Methuselah has developed a taste for seasonal figs.
“She’s a little picky and only likes figs when they are fresh and in season,” museum spokeswoman Jeanette Peach said.
The museum has two other Australian lungfish that are younger, believed to be in their 40s, Jan said.
The Australian lungfish is a threatened species and can no longer be exported from Australian waters, so biologists at the museum say it is unlikely that they would get a replacement once Methuselah passes away.
“We just give her the best possible care we can provide, and hopefully she thrives,” Jan said.
‘THEY KILLED HOPE’: Four presidential candidates were killed in the 1980s and 1990s, and Miguel Uribe’s mother died during a police raid to free her from Pablo Escobar Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has died two months after being shot at a campaign rally, his family said on Monday, as the attack rekindled fears of a return to the nation’s violent past. The 39-year-old conservative senator, a grandson of former Colombian president Julio Cesar Turbay (1978-1982), was shot in the head and leg on June 7 at a rally in the capital, Bogota, by a suspected 15-year-old hitman. Despite signs of progress in the past few weeks, his doctors on Saturday announced he had a new brain hemorrhage. “To break up a family is the most horrific act of violence that
HISTORIC: After the arrest of Kim Keon-hee on financial and political funding charges, the country has for the first time a former president and former first lady behind bars South Korean prosecutors yesterday raided the headquarters of the former party of jailed former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol to gather evidence in an election meddling case against his wife, a day after she was arrested on corruption and other charges. Former first lady Kim Keon-hee was arrested late on Tuesday on a range of charges including stock manipulation and corruption, prosecutors said. Her arrest came hours after the Seoul Central District Court reviewed prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant against the 52-year-old. The court granted the warrant, citing the risk of tampering with evidence, after prosecutors submitted an 848-page opinion laying out
North Korean troops have started removing propaganda loudspeakers used to blare unsettling noises along the border, South Korea’s military said on Saturday, days after Seoul’s new administration dismantled ones on its side of the frontier. The two countries had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who is seeking to ease tensions with Pyongyang. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense on Monday last week said it had begun removing loudspeakers from its side of the border as “a practical measure aimed at helping ease
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
RSS