what is the reason for the high life span of tortoise (more than 100 years)?

Question

is it because of the external shell aloneeee? Now there may be some other reason. i mean scientific!

Answer 1

Can't imagine you get very stressed moving at that speed.

Answer 2

First, only a few species of tortoise hit 100+ very often. Most barely break 50. The old species are usually the BIG species- and in general, big animals (like elephants) live longer than little ones (like mice). The biggest (and most cared for) tortoises sometimes hit 200 years old.

Very slow metabolism is one key. These animals have slow breaths, slow heartbeats, slow ambulation speeds, slow digestions, etc.

Ectothermia is a bonus- they don't burn any body energy heating themselves. The cells live longer and last longer.

Vegetarianism is a common theme in long-lived species- it promotes a slow metabolism, does not require speed or active hunting, and digests nice and slow.

Lack of heavy predation helps. The longest lived species have few predators as they get bigger. Honestly, one reason is that nothing kills them earlier!

Answer 3

The only reason is related to their " breathing pattern". The tortoise and some other mammels like elephant, crocodile noted for their longevity have a respiratory rate that is less than man's. The giant tortoise, for instance, which may attain the age of three hundred years, breathes only four times a minute. On the other hand, if u see the rate of a dog's respiration, u can easily find out the reason why their life span is so short.
So, it's all related to the Breathing Pattern.

Answer 4

Genetics and evolution The key to solving that riddle lies in understanding the benefits of living to such a long age i.e The more years lived the more time it can reproduce, think lineal polygomy as opposed to several mates at once it has several over a long time, worth the wait.

Answer 5

They have a low metabolism. As a general rule, animals with a high metabolic rate die early, and those that burn energy more slowly plod on for decades. The more active the animal, the higher its metabolic rate, as it has to burn energy to maintain its activity.

Answer 6

I think it also has something maybe to do with the fact that they don't achieve reproductive maturity until a number of years after birth... and since that is why any of us are here, I would guess that is has something to do with reproduction...

Answer 7

Silly - it doesn't get any exercise!

This proves that exercise is not a healthy activity, right?

Answer 8

They don't taste good and are difficult to cook.