Re: Terrapins: At Well Past 100, They're in the Mood

[Louise Sugar <dragonfyr@mac.com>]

my grandmother didn't hit menopause til some time after her 65th 
birthday...I'm 53 and have NO intention of having any more 
children....when my youngest graduates high school I will be 60...no 
more babies for me

Tommy Tyrberg wrote:
> At 15:06 2006-08-22, Patti Kane-Vanni wrote:
> > Terrapins: At Well Past 100, They're in the Mood.
> > It sounded incredible. A species that can live virtually forever, 
> > enjoy sex well into its second century, and bypass menopause completely.
>
> The last is hardly surprising. As far as I know Homo sapiens is the 
> *only* species that has a menopause. For example "Grandma", the 
> matriarch of the Taiaroa Head albatros colony was still breeding in her 
> sixties.
>
> The menopause most likely marks the point where the probability of 
> successfully raising another child to independence is so low that a 
> woman can do her inclusive fitness more good by helping her 
> offspring/relatives instead.
>
>
> Tommy Tyrberg