Worlds largest living creature discovered in Ibiza (sea grass 5 miles long and 100,000 years old)

Ibiza News ^ | 5/27/06

[LibWhacker]

What is the world's largest living creature?

Scientists from the CSIC. the University of the Balearic Islands, Portugal, Carribean and the USA have discovered a Posidonia Oceanica, of more than 8 kilometers in length, and 100,000 years old.

The 'Posideonia Oceanica' is, in layman's terms 'sea grass', and the wavy plains of this plant found off the coasts Ibiza and Formentera, have been, since 1999, part of the reason for the award to Ibiza as a 'Heritage of Humanity'.

The huge plant was discovered between 'Es Freus' (the straits that separate Ibiza from Formentera) and the 'Ses Salines' beach....and quite by accident, as there are more than 100,000,000 of these plants in the area.

The bad news is that, because of the pollution in the Mediterranean, these plants are disappearing at the rate pf 5% per year.

[bruinbirdman]

Go to the source of the article:

Ibiza News

This is one little web site advertisement for a little island. Look in the news, upper right. This is someones post. Looks like there is nothing on the island but hotels.

Want to creat some international PR? Get it on FR?

Further research about this grass would indicate that lots of students and professors are using it to justify a Mediterranean vacation under the guise of research. "Google" 'Posideonia Oceanica' and see what I mean.

Looks like a hoax to me.

no yitbos

[rawcatslyentist]

Whaddaya call the shroom at the end of the bar buying everyone drinks???

A Fungi to be with!!!

LOL>>>> I Kill Me!!!

[DannyTN]

This Frenchman was estimated to be more than 1000 years old, based on average adult growth rates.

[FreedomCalls]

Worlds largest living creature discovered

OK, who's going to be the first with a picture of Helen Thomas?

[ovrtaxt]

Yeah, but the fungus isn't a "creature", and the seagrass CLEARLY is.

Because if it were, the guy wouldn't have been able to write this ridiculous headline. Priorities!

[Caipirabob]

So, does it go with Honey-Mustard or Blue Cheese?

These articles never address the important points.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

ALGOREIUS...discovered living in the jungles of Confusion.

[mmercier]

and here i thought the hunk of fungus that stretches from Indiana to Illinois was the biggest living thing on the planed.

soon it will be algores ass.

[S0122017]

The bad news is that, because of the pollution in the Mediterranean, these plants are disappearing at the rate pf 5% per year.

That is true. Nothing envirowacko about it. Many species are declining due to polution.

[S0122017]

these plants are so weak that they are disappearing at 5% a year but they are positive that this plant is 100,000 years old. Thats a nice round figure BTW..

Don't be silly, they have only been omn the decline recently. And what journalists mention are estimates, who cares about a few years more or less?

[Fairview]

Isn't it also true that aspen groves constitute one organism, as they all have one interconnected root system? Some of them are very large as well.

[Fairview]

...while humans and most species are divided into only two sexes, mushrooms contain over 36,000 sexes.

Whoa. Lotta possibilities there. The mind boggles. Personally I have enough trouble just keeping the two human species straight, things being the way they are these days.

[KeepUSfree]

As a botanist and master gardener, I must add my 2 cents. Yes, growth rates are variable, some plants take years to get to a ceartin size, then grow more quickly. Some do the opposite. However, one can still "take an average growth rate"...which will be close - especially over the life of the plant. And, I doubt that the plant grows at it's annual growth rate intil it reaches 25m across - then accelerates growth by growing 1m per day. Even if it grew 1m per year (which it doesn't), that makes it a minimum of 8,000 years old. And, any plant "8 km in size" is going to take a while to get there.

So, my bet is that this plant is VERY, VERY old - at least tens of thousands of years.

[Son Of The Godfather]

Man, them dinosaurs had all the killer grass back then.
Unfortunately, being a "gateway drug", it's what killed 'em all off.

[Hatteras]

Hmmm.... I was sure the first picture was going to be of a certain White House Press Corp reporter who I shall not name...

[Echo Talon]

Don't be silly, they have only been omn the decline recently. And what journalists mention are estimates, who cares about a few years more or less?

telling me to not be silly then telling me they just started dying off... makes one wonder how much they really know since it took them this long to find such a large "creature" thats been under their noses for so long.

[From many - one.]

Just to clarify...those are breeding strains, not sexes. It just takes any two different ones to create a diploid stage. Fungal reproduction is very strange but it doesn't take all 36,000 "sexes" to mate.

[blam]

Previous to this find, the largest organism was an underground fungus in Oregon and prior to that it was an Aspen forest in (I believe) Colorado.

[Fairview]

Thank you. And in my post I meant two human sexes, not species. I'm aware of the difference. Just hadn't had put on my reading glasses before posting.