The ‘longest-living’ shark that has been alive since 1627 can be found in the Arctic Ocean, according to experts.
Back in 2016, researchers began a study on Greenland sharks, which are believed to be the longest-living vertebrates known on Earth, as per scientists.
And in fact, experts found a shark that had been roaming the same waters since 1627 – but how did they go about making such a discovery?
Well, they used a method known as radiocarbon dating to work out the ages of the 28 animals they were studying.
And with that, they made the astonishing discovery that one female in the group was about 400 years old.
The Greenland shark roams in the Arctic ocean (Getty Stock Photo)
Julius Nielsen, the lead author on the study and a marine biologist from the University of Copenhagen, said: “We had our expectations that we were dealing with an unusual animal, but I think everyone doing this research was very surprised to learn the sharks were as old as they were.”
Previously, it was believed there would be no way to determine the age of Greenland sharks, as researchers would often look at the tissue that grows in layers on the back bones of the Great White, for example.
Nielsen added to the BBC: “But the Greenland shark is a very, very soft shark – it has no hard body parts where growth layers are deposited. So it was believed that the age could not be investigated.”
Despite believing it would never have been possible, the team of experts discovered a clever way to work out the shark’s age.
Explaining the method, Neilson revealed: “The Greenland shark’s eye lens is composed of a specialised material – and it contains proteins that are metabolically inert.
“Which means after the proteins have been synthesised in the body, they are not renewed any more. So we can isolate the tissue that formed when the shark was a pup, and do radiocarbon dating.”
Radiocarbon dating does not provide exact dates, but even with the researcher’s lowest estimate, the shark is extremely ancient.
“Even with the lowest part of this uncertainty, 272 years, even if that is the maximum age, it should still be considered the longest-living vertebrate,” Nielsen continued.
The shark’s very long life has gone viral on Reddit, with a few jokes being made here and there.
“That guy has no idea how much stuff has happened on land since 1627. It’s a TON of stuff,” one Redditor quipped.
“Bro looks tired af,” a second added, while a third remarked: “Can’t believe I feel bad for a shark. Imagine humans would not die we would go insane lol.”