John has been diving with Speedy the sea dragon on Tasmania's east coast for 16 years. Using facial recognition, scientists have identified Speedy as the longest-living sea dragon recorded.
Out of the 3,000 weedy sea dragons being tracked, Speedy is the oldest.
He said he sent SeaDragonSearch photographs he had taken over the years and they identified Speedy from his early photographs and recent ones."When they first told me, I think he was 12 years of age at that stage, and he's still there," Mr Smith said. Perth scientist Nerida Wilson, who started SeaDragonSearch, said the typical life expectancy of a sea dragon was still unknown.
"Current research suggests that Tasmania's sea dragons live much longer than first thought, which may be related to the cooler water temperatures they experience, but we don't know exactly why."Divers hope the SeaDragonSearch will help to uncover more about the species.Mr Smith said while the facial-recognition technology was great for keep tracking of sea dragons and learning more about them, he could identify some of his local sea dragons by eye.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Precious world heritage ecosystem in Tasmania's west slowly drying out as scientists watch in despairUnusually dry weather is leaving the state's Wilderness World Heritage Area sensitive to fire. It's a prospect that threatens a living fossil that traces its history to the ancient super-continent Gondwana.
Read more »
Elton John fans left fuming as concert cancelled last-minuteNearly 40,000 fans were expected to attend the Auckland concert but the revellers were informed less than 30 minutes before the show was set to begin as it was too unsafe to proceed.
Read more »
Avant-garde food festival promises sensual, and literal, nourishmentAn exciting new food experience at Brisbane Powerhouse will borrow from Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival to deliver an “immersive, outdoor neon-noir environment”. 🤩 Take a look 👇
Read more »
Palestinians say nine killed in Israeli raid on Jenin refugee campOfficials also accuse Israeli forces of using teargas inside children’s ward of a hospital in West Bank
Read more »
Capitol rioter who assaulted Brian Sicknick gets near-seven year sentenceJulian Khater pleaded guilty to using chemical spray to attack the Capitol police officer who died on 7 January
Read more »
'We need to find players, and quickly': Changing tastes leading to struggles for once-great teamThere are fears one of Tasmania's former powerhouse Australian rules football teams is dangerously close to not being able to field a team, with sporting greats likening the situation to a canary in a coalmine for other clubs.
Read more »