With a 1938 arrival date at the Steinhart Aquarium — four years before President Biden was born — Methuselah the Australian lungfish was already established as the oldest living fish in a zoological setting.

But now scientists can get much more specific. A recent DNA sample, sent to Methuselah’s birthplace in Australia, estimates an actual age: 92 years old. With a window of 9 years in either direction, the fish may be as old as 101 — older than the Steinhart Aquarium itself, which turns 100 later this month. 

Methuselah arrived on a Matson steamship from Queensland, Australia in November 1938, and has been a star at the California Academy of Sciences since. Lungfish are “living fossils” that can thrive on land and water, surviving in mud and using strong pectoral fins to hobble from pond to pond. 

The aquarium began celebrating the fish’s longevity in the 1980s, when it was named after the biblical character Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather who lived to 969 years old.

Aquarium officials have wanted to know Methuselah’s age for decades, but older DNA collection was more invasive and could be life-threatening for the fish. Scientists in Australia, armed with newer, safer techniques — a tissue sample the size of a peppercorn was taken from a fin — collected samples from 30 lungfish at six institutions. Methuselah was the oldest; the Cal Academy’s two other lungfish were estimated at 50 and 54 years.

Senior biologist Allan Jan feeds Methuselah, a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish that was brought to the California Academy of Sciences in 1938 from Australia.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

The scientists, Dr. Ben Mayne at science agency CSIRO and Dr. David T. Roberts at water business Seqwater, hope the study helps biologists understand biodiversity and aids with conservation efforts. Knowing the fish’s age helps determine how long they can survive and reproduce in the wild.

For the biologists who work with Methuselah, it’s also personal. Charles Delbeek, curator of aquarium projects at Steinhart Aquarium, said he checks on the fish every day he’s at the museum. 

“The people here just love working with her,” Delbeek said. “Lungfish are gentle animals, very, very slow moving. She responds to human touch. She likes to have her belly rubbed. Figs are one of her favorite treats.”

California Academy of Sciences Senior Biologist Allan Jan checks in on Methuselah the Australian lungfish in its enclosure at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco. Methuselah is the oldest living fish in a zoological setting.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

One thing scientists still don’t know: Methuselah’s gender. While Methuselah has been referred to as “she” by Academy staff for decades, the fish’s gender would require a risky blood draw, and may not be known until after the fish dies.

How long that will be is another mystery. Methuselah has some white around the gills that indicates aging, but biologists are unsure if the fish will live another few years, another decade or even longer. 

“As a grand dame, she is showing her age,” Delbeek said. “She looks like an old fish. But we hope she’ll continue to live for many more years.”

Reach Peter Hartlaub: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @PeterHartlaub

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Dan Bebak, vice president of the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, got out of his construction truck and headed to the construction site for the new Mote Science Education Aquarium, which is adjacent to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota.

As he approached the construction site, he kept looking up.

yes, up

Up is a celebratory word for mote because it means its $130 million project (now a $132 million project), announced in February 2018 and breaking ground in November 2020, has begun, to make a visual impression on everyone who passes by.

That’s a massive impact considering that more than 50 million vehicles pass through the 11.76-acre property along Interstate 75 in a year.

In addition to the busy workers on the ground floor, there are two huge cranes that move building materials that are supposed to blow up. Columns and elevator shafts have already stretched into the sky, and in May the giant acrylic windows in the Gulf of Mexico, which help form a tank that occupies both the first and second floors of the three-story, 110,000-square-foot building, will be placed.

Because this display tank in the Gulf of Mexico is so massive, builders Willis Smith Construction and Whiting-Turner must place it before they can begin building the walls around it. Then the vertical construction takes off.

Interest increases

“Once you go vertical, the (funding) increases,” said Michael Moore, special adviser to the Office of the President at Mote. “By then you have to be a visionary. Now the public is feeling the mood.”

Moore said Mote has a $100 million pledge for the aquarium, with “a few” other big potential donors seriously considering getting on board.

But he said the vertical phase of a project is often what stimulates corporate sponsorship the most.

“Corporate sponsorship is the last thing,” he said. “They want to get closer to get real. Now it’s really happening.”

Bebak began working at Mote as an intern in 1981 and was hired on permanently in 1985. Eventually, he worked his way up the ladder to oversee an annual budget of $7 million and 70 employees.

“It’s great to run out there,” he said of the site. “And it’ll be nice to say, ‘There’s the tank from the Gulf of Mexico.'”

The two acrylic “windows” that make up the exhibition tank in the Gulf of Mexico together weigh 14 tons. This will be a sight in itself (although the acrylic will be covered in plywood) as passers-by can see the tank being built throughout May and June. The windows are shipped from Reynolds Polymer Technology of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Then it’s off to the races.

The new Mote Science Education Aquarium will include a display tank in the Gulf of Mexico.

With kind approval

As the project progresses, most of the work on the second and third floors will be completed before the ground floor is completed. Bebak said heavy materials like the tanks would have to be moved to the first floor, which would ruin the floor.

While people think vertical structures start from the ground up, Bebak noted that the 368 piles erected to support the structure are actually vertical, with the piles reaching 80 to 90 feet into the ground.

To date, Mote has spent approximately $30 million on on-site and underground construction.

Exactly according to plan

“We are on schedule and plan to open in autumn 2024,” said Bebak. “Now that we’re going vertical, we know what we’re up against. We will fill the water in the tanks and bring in the fish.

The pools will be fully stocked with wildlife months before the doors open to the public in the fall of 2024. Wild animals need time to acclimate. Natural seawater is predominantly used to fill the tanks.

“We’ll have a better idea of ​​opening dates in a few months,” Bebak said. “And you never know what the weather will be like.”

Half of the third level of the aquarium will be in the open air. This gives guests an indoor-outdoor experience.

Moore said successful planning has allowed the project to stay mostly within budget during a period of extreme inflation. The original price of $130 million had introduced some inflation, but Moore said Mote had been buying materials and setting prices for more than three years.

“We don’t see that escalation (in the budget),” Moore said.

Bebak noted that the construction project is highly specialized as almost every part of the aquarium has life support systems and specialized pumps, filters, piping, air conditioning and heating systems.

All support systems such as B. columns must be extremely strong. For example, the Florida Waters Gallery’s tank on the third floor will hold 300,000 gallons of water.

“They need a lot more rebar,” Bebak said.

All of that has been taken into account.

“The project is moving,” said Bebak. “Nothing will stop us except a little weather here and there.”

Mote estimates that the aquarium will attract 600,000 to 700,000 visitors in its first year.

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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Just beyond the jellyfish at the Steinhart Aquarium inside the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park sits — or rather, swims — Methuselah.

In the Bible, Noah’s grandfather Methuselah was said to have lived to be 969 years old. Methuselah the fish is not quite that ancient, but biologists at the California Academy of Sciences believe it is about 90 years old, with no known living peers.

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Methuselah is a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish.

Senior biologist Allan Jan feeds Methuselah, a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish that was brought to the California Academy of Sciences in 1938 from Australia, in its tank in San Francisco, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

She — possibly he; biologists aren’t exactly sure — is believed to be the oldest Australian lungfish in captivity.

Methuselah arrived in San Francisco in 1938, when it’s believed she was five years old. She lives a very mellow life in slow-moving 70 degree water; a bit of a lazy river.

“She needs a little bit of space, calm water and nice diet,” said curator Charles Delbeek.

As for her diet, a fish of her distinguished age has distinct preferences.

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“Earthworms, romaine lettuce and figs. She really likes sweet figs when they’re in season. She won’t eat preserved ones or frozen ones,” Delbeek told KPIX.

For the record, she also likes belly rubs.

If you’re thinking that her tank looks small, rest assured that’s just the way she likes it. A few years ago, biologists tried to move her to a larger tank with two other Australian Lungfish — named Small and Medium — and Methuselah wasn’t a fan.

“When she was moved into there, she did not display good behaviors. We decided at her age, it was better not to move her,” said Delbeek.

Researchers in Australia are trying to divine Methuselah’s exact age through DNA testing.

“We actually take a very small cutting, maybe less than one square millimeter of the actual fin. It’s a painless procedure — preserve that in alcohol and then it gets shipped to Australia for testing,” explained Delbeek.

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Though, at her age, a lady or gentleman never tells.

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The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco believes it has the world’s oldest living fish in an Aquarium.

The fish is an Australian lungfish, and it lives in a glass container in a museum. The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper first wrote about the fish in 1947. The story said the fish looked “strange” and might have been an example of the link between animals that lived in the ocean and those that lived on land.

The fish is named Methuselah after a person said to have lived 969 years in the Bible. While she is not that old, biologists at the aquarium think the fish is about 90 years old. They believe it is the oldest living example of a lungfish in an aquarium.

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,” said biologist Allan Jan, “Methuselah is the oldest.”

Jan looks after the fish in San Francisco. He believes the fish is female but does not know for sure. The aquarium plans to take a very small part of the fish’s fine and send it to scientists in Australia. The scientists will try to confirm the fish’s age and sex.

Jan said Methuselah likes getting rubbed on her back. He compared her to an “underwater puppy” or young dog. She is a little longer than one meter and weighs about 20 kilograms.

Methuselah, a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish that was brought to the California Academy of Sciences in 1938 from Australia, swims in its tank in San Francisco, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu )

Jeanette Peach is a spokeswoman for the aquarium. She said the fish enjoys eating fresh figs, a type of fruit. “She won’t eat them when they’re frozen,” Peach said.

The aquarium has two other Australian lungfish. Jan said they are thinking to be in their 40s or 50s.

the species is now threatened and can no longer be exported from Australian waters. So, getting another lungfish after Methuselah is not likely.

“We just give her the best possible care we can provide, and hopefully she thrills,” Jan said.

I’m Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

Does your country have some old animals or fish? What kind are they? Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

Aquarium– n. a glass or plastic container in which fish and other water animals and plants can live

default – n. used to describe something that happens or is done when nothing else has been done or can be done — usually used in the phrase by default

fine– n. a thin flat part that sticks out from the body of a fish and is used in moving or guiding the fish through water

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants : a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus

drive – v. to grow or develop successfully

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From KGO employees

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is home to the world’s oldest living aquarium fish.

The name of the lungfish is Methuselah, which comes from the Bible.

Methusalah was Noah’s grandfather and lived 969 years.

This Methusalah is considered “she” and is at least 90 years old.

The academy will send a tiny sample of their fin to researchers in Australia who will try to find out its exact age.

“She’s basically just a big pooch,” said aquarium curator Charles Delbeek.

“She’s very gentle, she moves very slowly, but if you want to move quickly, you can. You can jump out of this tank and that’s why we have a guard around it, ”he explained.

Methusalah weighs about 24 pounds.

Perhaps a more mature palate comes with their age? She enjoys figs, but only fresh, not frozen and thawed.

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The name of the lungfish is Methuselah, which comes from the Bible.

Methusalah was Noah’s grandfather and lived 969 years.

This Methusalah is considered “she” and is at least 90 years old.

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The academy will send a tiny sample of their fin to researchers in Australia who will try to find out its exact age.

“She’s basically just a big pooch,” said aquarium curator Charles Delbeek.

“She’s very gentle, she moves very slowly, but if you want to be fast, you can. You can jump out of this tank and that’s why we have a guard around it, ”he explained.

Methusalah weighs about 24 pounds.

Perhaps a more mature palate comes with their age? She enjoys figs, but only when they are fresh, not frozen and thawed.

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Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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WITHEcological facilities offer people the rare opportunity to see some of the most unique and often endangered wildlife in the world. Large exhibits that showcase charismatic mammals – reticulated giraffes, African elephants, jaguars, great apes, whales (although luckily this is changing), etc. – are usually the fauna we synonymous with these wildlife parks. But … what if I told you that San Francisco’s very own California Academy of Sciences is home to not only the city’s oldest aquarium fish, but probably the entire country?

Meet Methusalah: the Australian lungfish over 90 years old that came to San Francisco on a steamer from Queensland, Australia in 1938.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a glorious profile on the magnetic fish that actually uses both its primitive lungs and gills to store oxygen. (As the newspaper noted, the name “Methuselah” is a Biblical reference to Noah’s grandfather, who lived to be 969; the fish is now four feet long and weighs about 40 pounds, and is likely to keep growing [as most fish do the rest of their lives; they’re what we call animals without “predetermined growth” in biology]; she likes fruit snacks and abdominal massages.)

And what is equally fascinating about Methusalah’s own San Francisco story is the evolutionary biology of the species to which it belongs.

Australian lungfish – also known as “Queensland lungfish” due to their naturally occurring distribution in slow-flowing basins and river systems in southeast Queensland – are among the oldest living fish species known to science, with a few examples such as Methusalah living 90 or more Years. It is believed that the longest-lived Australian lungfish must be a centenarian. (Fuck our blue zones, am I right?)

They also belong to only one of six living lungfish species in the world and are the only surviving member of the genus Neoceratodontidae. Four species of the genus Protopterus (animals of the family Protopteridae) occur in Africa; one species, Lepidosiren paradoxa (the only species in the Lepidosirenidae family) occurs in South America; The Australian lungfish is the only species in the Ceratodontidae family – and is also one of the stockiest of all known lungfish.

How did these fish get their primitive lung system, which is almost identical in function and structure to that of amphibians? They have got rid of their swim bladder, which is why lungfish have pectoral and ventral fins and a single unpaired caudal fin in place of the dorsal fin, which look slightly nifty and mirror rudimentary limbs.

Because, yes: Lungfish are just as well suited to migrating through swampy wetlands as they are to gliding through the shallow, slow-moving aquatic habitats in which they can be found.

It is not known exactly how old the species itself is. However, fossil records of examples from this group have been dated back 380 million years, to about the time the higher vertebrate classes appeared on the planet – a full 170 million years before the first mammals are believed to have migrated. In addition, lungfish fossils have almost identical anatomies to those found today, suggesting that they have existed largely unchanged for well over 100 million years.

Lungfish are not just primitive; They are among the oldest living vertebrates on this space rock.

But because humans are assholes, many of the lungfish species still alive, including the Australian lungfish, are “threatened” according to reports from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to the IUCN, some are even “endangered”, such as the Australian lungfish. All of them are currently facing human-made habitat loss and increasing threats to their riparian areas due to the climate crisis.

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Next time you’re looking for some rainy day activity, pay a visit to Methusalah. And implore whatever higher power you choose to honor that human greed does not deprive future generations of the chance to see members of their species via belly-stroking.

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