At that time, a group of researchers was working off the coast of Belize (Caribbean). The world’s oldest shark has resurfaced after a long absence. Although they initially thought it was a sixgill shark, a deep-sea predator, it actually was one Greenland shark, the longest living shark on earth.
This shark, native to the waters of the Arctic Ocean, could also live in other deep regions such as the Caribbean, according to the journal Marine Biology. It was the cover of several magazines in 2016, and it was estimated that there would be 1,505.
“It looked like something that would have existed in prehistoric times,” said Devanshi Kasana, a biologist at the Conservation and Predator Ecology Laboratory at Florida International University, Science Alert reports.
This is the Greenland shark: what era does it come from, how old is it?
This species could have It is more than 400 years old and can reach a length of five to six meters, making it one of the largest in the world. Their growth is slow (one centimeter per year) and females reach sexual maturity after a hundred years. This growth rate would explain its slow metabolism and yet its life expectancy is long. In addition, it is also called the “sleeping shark” due to its slow movement.
In general, its average life expectancy is about 272 years, although it can live up to 512 years and, according to the journal Science, is the vertebrate in the world that can reach the longest age.