Those are some pretty old sharks.
New research into the Greenland shark has found that the species could be as old as 500 years.
These sharks, otherwise known as Somniosus Microcephalus, are native to the Arctic and North Atlantic. They are also the longest living vertebrate on Earth, with the latest estimate on their lifespan being 512 years.
Scientists estimate that one sixteen-foot-long Greenland shark has been alive for as long as five hundred and twelve years. pic.twitter.com/OZw7hsVGHN
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) December 14, 2017
In a recent analysis of 28 female Greenland sharks, one shark in particular, which was measured at 16-feet in length, was believed to be between 272 and 512-years-old. This was found by Danish scientist, Julius Nielsen, who was not able to tell its age by studying the soft vertebrae, so instead he used a method of carbon dating on the lens of the shark’s eye.
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Nielsen was able to establish that the average lifespan was 390 years. Of the 28 studied, two of the largest sharks were estimated to be between 335 and 392-years-old. This pair, it is also believed, are the oldest of the species.
“It’s important to keep in mind there’s some uncertainty with this estimate,” Nielsen has said.
“But even the lowest part of the age range – at least 272 years – still makes Greenland sharks the longest-living vertebrate known to science.”
According to the Greenland shark and Elasmobranche Education and Research Group, Greenland sharks are also capable of growing to be 24-feet (7 metres), while they can reach a weight of 1,200 kilograms. Though their size and the fact that they are sharks might sound terrifying, rest assured, the predator isn’t noted for its speed, since it typically travels at 0.3 metres per second.
Well, that’s that sorted.
They might be able to outlive us, but we can outrun them, meaning the balance in nature has been restored once again.
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