CHICAGO -- In the years before his death in 2017, Granddad, an Australian lungfish, was the oldest zoo animal in Chicago and the longest-lived aquarium fish in the world. He spent more than 80 years of his life at the Shedd Aquarium.
New research published in Frontiers in Environmental Science: Freshwater Science revealed that the beloved Shedd icon was from Burnett River, Queensland, Australia, and lived to be 109 years. Previously, the oldest known age of a wild lungfish was just 77 years.
Granddad was popular with visitors to the aquarium in his day and his death brought a lot of attention because of his suspected age. In a news release, the Shedd said this information can help with modern conservation planning and management approaches.
