Comments on: Deep-corals are world’s oldest animal

By: World’s Strangest | The World’s Oldest Animal

World’s Strangest | The World’s Oldest Animal — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:25:11 +0000

[...] Link [...]

By: bamboo poles gardener

bamboo poles gardener — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:45:51 +0000

Excellent info, I’m going to post a link of this.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:40:13 +0000

Termites are not the best analogy because coral polyps are sessile, and obligated to life on the axis. Termites are mobile, and independent of the nest. Still, you make a good point, and this is quite an interesting question. I agree with Duncan that we should submit this to the Guinness book for a ruling. Guinness. Brilliant!

By: Duncan

Duncan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:11:55 +0000

The world’s oldest animals are the dinosaurs It is very interesting. However, I don’t think it is quite right to call coral the oldest animal. Although it is seen as a single organism, the polips are the real living things there. The skeleton is 4000 years old, not the polips. Theoretically we can also find a termite nest that is thousands of years old but that won’t make a termite old. If this coral thing went for the Guinness record book, it would be really difficult to judge – is this age valid or not…

By: Semih

Semih — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:57:52 +0000

2700 years old? Wow. That must be boring

By: World’s oldest animal captured alive, on video | Deep Sea News

World’s oldest animal captured alive, on video | Deep Sea News — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:04:53 +0000

[...] Sea News has been following the story of the world’s oldest living animals, the deep-sea Leiopathes black corals and Gerardia gold corals from 300m depth in hawaii. Both are [...]

By: EMJ

EMJ — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:17:27 +0000

I just came across this from Circus of the Spineless. Very interesting article. I linked to it over at The Primate Diaries. I wrote an essay recently on an earlier controversy of the corals which you might be intersted in.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:23:57 +0000

Should also be mentioned that zoantharians often colonize exposed branches of deep-corals, where branches have died back or polyps been eaten by predators.

By: James

James — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:17:39 +0000

No argument on the Leiopathes work – although I have yet to read the argument/paper. But, the Gerardia stuff is full of potential pitfalls, as you state here. Somewhere someone should mention these guys are zoanthids, and that they strengthen their body with debris and detritus from the surrounding environment. Hmmm – wonder how old they truly are? Add in the clonal concept, and you have a mess waiting to happen for us researchers. Some microsat stuff looking at populations could provide some hints.
Any Leiopathes people out there with further thoughts/ideas?

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:00:17 +0000

Ok, I’m split on that one, I mean the Quahog is rather cool, and molluscan after all, but I admit it’s not anywhere as beautiful or exciting to see as a deep coral. Maybe a star by the name you know like the ones the modern sports people use to distinguish between absolute record and record without enhancements (yes I’m equating clonal colonial animals with performance enhancement, is that so wrong?)?

The Quahog headline is rich, especially since it didn’t taste that good either. So what do you put in your Deep Sea bouillabaisse?