The "The Age Of Those That Cannot Speak: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about an animal that I had never heard about until last evening when I saw photographs of what is known as a lungfish.  And, this wasn't just any type of fish.  My gosh...it was older than I am!  And...that's old!  The fish loves to eat fresh figs, get belly rubs and is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world.  And, to top that off if's name is Methuselah, just like in the Bible.  In the Bible, Methuselah was Noah's grandfather and was said to have lived to be 969 years old.  Now, this fish that I was reading about wasn't quite that old, but it is believed that it is about 90 years old with no known living peers.  This Methuselah is a 4-foot-long, 40 pound Australian lungfish that arrived at the San Francisco museum in 1938 from Australia.  

The lungfish

I wasn't even born back then!  And...it's still alive!  This fish has green scales that look like artichoke leaves.  Another lungfish resided at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  That fish died in 2017 at the age of 95.  Methuselah is believed to be a female, but the only way to be sure is with a risky blood draw.  She likes to be rubbed on her back and belly.  Remember...this is a fish!  She seems to be a fussy eater and only likes figs that are fresh and in season.  Nothing frozen for this girl.  Other items she enjoys are grapes, blackberries, romaine lettuce, clams, prawns, earthworms and a variety of other fish.  The Australian lungfish is a threatened species and can no longer be exported from Australia.  The aquarium at San Francisco does have two other much younger lungfish with one being 25 pounds and the other 15 pounds.  When Methuselah passes away, they will not to be able to replace her.  Luckily she is thriving nicely right now.  I had an aquarian for years with a variety of different sized fish, but not a single one weighed a pound, let alone 40 pounds.  And...I thought the goldfish I wrote about yesterday was big!  Of course...he or she wasn't 90 years old!   And...sorry to say... never will be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.