r/TurtleFacts • u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 • Jun 08 '16

Article Turtles have what is called negligible senescence, meaning that they are theoretically immortal!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligible_senescence
189 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

17

u/scrubs2009 Jun 08 '16

So does this actually mean if I take good care of my sweet little scrubbies she will live forever?

15

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 08 '16 edited Jun 09 '16

She'll out live you, yes.

She literally will not die of old age or any age related processes, like what you see in humans. Their heart doesn't get weak as they grow older, their metabolism doesn't slow down, they don't become impotent or incompetent. If Scrubbies dies, it will be because she got sick or was killed by something. Keep her safe, and you can keep her forever!

Also, she's adorable.

7

u/scrubs2009 Jun 08 '16

Hooray! I was hoping so. And thanks for the compliment!

1

u/MrDyl4n Aug 05 '16

what species is that?

17

u/ld43233 Jun 08 '16

Wow turtles are better at evolution then humans, then again they have been at it longer then us.

10

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 08 '16

That's true! With that said, it is an overtly rare characteristic. It's also possessed by jellyfish, lobsters, certain mussels, crocodiles, alligators, and quite a few types of trees.

6

u/awkwardtheturtle Jun 08 '16

And that one clam. Life just.... finds a way. Iirc, researchers are looking into this pretty closely for obvious reasons.

2

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 08 '16

And that one clam!! I know, whats up with that? There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason.

1

u/Turtledonuts Jun 13 '16

you forgot horseshoe crabs and lobsters. (keep in mind that the aforementioned crabs are closer to spiders than crabs...)

2

u/ninchaokin Jul 02 '16

I disagree,

picks turtle up, puts down belly up

8

u/xlinuxtrancex Minister of Turtle Advocacy Jun 08 '16

Glad to see you over here!

3

u/Unkle_Silky Jun 08 '16

That picture is of a tortoise tho...

19

u/LordOfTheTorts 👑🐢👑 Jun 08 '16

Tortoises are a type of turtle, see the FAQ in the sidebar.

11

u/123emailaddress321 Jun 08 '16

Sweet flair

5

u/awkwardtheturtle Jun 09 '16

Check their flair out now! I added crowns. They are the Lord of the Torts, after all.

3

u/123emailaddress321 Jun 09 '16

That's cool, I didn't know you can have little pictures for a flair. I always see text like "edgelord supreme" or something

5

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 08 '16

A tortoise is a type of turtle, and is endorsed as such in the sidebar.

6

u/awkwardtheturtle Jun 09 '16

Thanks so much for posting here and answering the questions from commenters! I really appreciate it. I have awarded you turtle flair.

I would love to see more of you around here!

3

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 09 '16

I really appreciate you! Thank you!

Honestly, I didn't know about this sub until I was referred here after posting my link on TIL. After I was told you guys might appreciate it, I took a look around, and subscribed immediately! It's really cool to see that you guys have a wonderful community.

2

u/xlinuxtrancex Minister of Turtle Advocacy Jun 09 '16

It is a great place to be :-) There are other turtley places linked in the sidebar that you should visit, too! And, there are even some places that aren't listed....

3

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 09 '16

I'm in a couple of other turtley subs from time to time, actually, but I think you guys are my favorite!

3

u/leatherknife Jun 08 '16

let's assume OP speaks US English :)

3

u/RadioactiveTentacles 🐢 Jun 09 '16

I do speak US English, so sorry for any confusion caused by dialect.

4

u/Hartech Jun 08 '16

Eh but in the wiki it states

some tortoises and turtles[6] are thought to be negligibly senescent.

The image is just the algorithm grabbing what it can