Oldest living thing: Giant Seaweed Patches In Mediterranean Sea

The oldest living thing, 200,000-year-old giant patches of seagrass, was discovered by scientists in the Mediterranean Sea, according to reports by several international news sites on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

The seaweed patches weighs 6,000 tons and stretches for about 10 miles. The organism reportedly reproduce asexually and spread very slowly to cover large areas.

Reports say that scientists used DNA sequencing at 40 different sites over a 2,000 mile range from Spain to Cyprus to determine the age of the seaweed patches.

The DNA sequencing showed that the age of the organisms ranged from 12,000 to 200,000-years-old, majority of which are likely around 100,000-years-old.