Physical Damage Management and Exceptional Vertebrate Longevity: A Falsifiable Framework Integrating Spectral Filtering, Physical Shielding, Residual Damage, Repair, and Allostatic

This Hypothesis / Perspective preprint proposes a falsifiable physical-biological framework for exceptional vertebrate longevity based on the amount of physical and molecular damage that ultimately remains in tissues. The framework separates five independently testable components: H1A, spectral filtering by the integument in the UV-visible-NIR range; H1B, physical attenuation of defined ionizing or particulate radiation by environmental or anatomical barriers; H2, residual molecular damage per unit of relevant exposure; H3, DNA repair and cellular maintenance; and H4, allostatic load and recovery to homeostasis. The Greenland shark, giant tortoises, and bowhead whale are used as anchor species. Current evidence supports enhanced genome-maintenance mechanisms, particularly in the bowhead whale, while direct comparative evidence that spectral filtering or radiation shielding explains exceptional longevity is still lacking. The manuscript proposes spectroscopy, radiation dosimetry and transport modelling, somatic mutation analysis, DNA-damage and repair assays, allostatic measurements, phylogenetic comparative models, preregistration, and explicit falsification criteria. No new experimental data are reported. The document is bilingual: English first, followed by Spanish.