New Study Estimates Whale Sharks' Lifespan

According to Gizmodo, the world’s biggest fish is the mysterious whale shark, which can grow as heavy as 40,000 pounds and as large as 60 feet. New observations have shown that they also can live to be 130 years old. A team of scientists working in the Maldives has been working to fill in the gaps in scientific knowledge on these huge creatures. Previously, researchers relied on dead shark bones which left room for inaccuracy. Scientists in the Maldives have developed a model that calculated that the male sharks matured at 25 years old and lived to be 130, but there were too few females to make an estimate of female whale shark longevity.