A man believed to be the world’s oldest individual has passed away at the age of 125, allegedly surpassing the official record held by a 116-year-old woman from Britain.

Marcelino Abad Tolentino, hailing from a secluded village in Peru, died peacefully in his sleep at a care facility on Monday, just shy of his 126th birthday.

Known affectionately as Mashico, Tolentino was born in 1900. This made him not only the oldest man in Peru but potentially the oldest person globally.

Despite his remarkable longevity, he was never officially acknowledged by Guinness World Records due to insufficient documentation.

This leaves Ethel Caterham from Lightwater, Surrey, who was born in 1909, as the current official record holder at 116 years and 222 days.

Caterham is also recognized as the oldest person in British history and the last known survivor born in the first decade of the 1900s.

Mr Tolentino, who was raised as an orphan, lived in his isolated rural hometown his whole life. 

He lived in extreme poverty for much of that time, cultivating his land by hand and trading agricultural goods with other villagers. 

Marcelino Abad Tolentino (pictured), who was from a remote village in Peru, sadly passed away in his sleep at a care home on Monday, just five days before his 126th birthday

The farmer (pictured), known as Mashico, was born in 1900, making him the oldest man in his country – and quite possibly the most elderly person in the world

But he has never been officially recognised with the title by Guinness World Records due to a lack of necessary documentation. It leaves Ethel Caterham (pictured), from Lightwater, Surrey, who was born in 1909, as the formal recordholder, at 116 years and 222 days

The farmer, who never had a family, lived alone, without electricity or running water and using only a small oil lamp for light. 

Incredibly, Mr Tolentino was completely unknown to the authorities until the Covid-19 pandemic.  

He was discovered when he began receiving support from the country’s Pension 65 programme, for those aged more than 65 who are in poverty with no pension.  

The scheme saw him receive his first ID card and a state pension, which paid for him to move into a care home. 

Shortly after, the centenarian suffered an accident that resulted in a serious hip injury and left him wheelchair bound.

In recent years, he became a nationally recognised figure for his incredible longevity. 

Two years ago, the Peruvian government began the process of registering him as the world’s oldest man with Guinness World Records. 

But the process sadly could not be completed, officials said, as he could not show the required documentation of his birth.

The oldest man who ever lived was Juan Vicente Perez Mora, from Venezuela, who died in April 2024 at the age of 114 and 311 days.

The most elderly man alive today is 113-year-old Brazilian Joao Marinho Neto, from Brazil.

He sent Ms Caterham a congratulatory message on her 116th birthday in August last year, as she was the first person in British history to reach this age. 

This reportedly marked the first documented exchange between the world’s oldest verified woman and oldest verified man.