Writing in the journal Science, Nielsen and an international team of researchers describe how they set about determining the age of 28 female Greenland sharks, collected as by-catch during scientific surveys between 20. “It definitely tells us that this creature is extraordinary and it should be considered among the absolute oldest animals in the world,” said Nielsen. The new research, he says, is the first hard evidence of just how long these creatures can live. “Given that this shark is the apex predator (king of the food chain) in Arctic waters, it is almost unbelievable that we didn’t know whether the shark lives for 20 years, or for 1000 years.”Ī Greenland shark near the surface after its release from the research vessel Sanna in northern Greenland. “Fish biologists have tried to determine the age and longevity of Greenland sharks for decades, but without success.” said Steven Campana, a shark expert from the University of Iceland. With a reported growth rate of less than one centimetre a year, they were already thought to be long-lived creatures, but just how long they lived for was something of a mystery. Grey, plump and growing to lengths of around five metres, the Greenland shark is one of the world’s largest carnivores. “It kicks off the bowhead whale as the oldest vertebrate animal,” said Julius Nielsen, lead author of the research from the University of Copenhagen, pointing out that bowhead whales have been known to live for 211 years.īut the Greenland shark doesn’t scoop all the gongs – the title of the world’s longest-lived animal is held by Ming, an Icelandic clam known as an ocean quahog, that made it to 507 years before scientists bumped it off. ![]() It is also far longer than the official record for humans, held by 122-year-old Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment. The discovery places the lifespan of the Greenland shark far ahead of even the oldest elephant in captivity, Lin Wang, who died aged 86.
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