Sharks Can Live for Hundreds of Years

Greenland sharks can live over 400 years, making them the longest living vertebrates known to science. The oldest Greenland shark ever found was estimated to be between 272 and 512 years old, with the most likely age around 390 years.

How Scientists Discovered Their Age

Unlike most body tissues that constantly regenerate, the center of a shark's eye lens forms before birth and never changes. The technique revealed that Greenland sharks grow incredibly slowly at about 1 centimeter per year. Using the size of captured sharks and their growth rate, scientists calculated ages exceeding 400 years.

Why They Live So Long

Greenland sharks live in extremely cold water between minus 1 and 10 degrees Celsius. Cold temperatures dramatically slow their metabolism, reducing the speed of biological processes that cause aging. Their heart rate is incredibly slow, and they move through the water at only 0.3 meters per second, slower than a human walking pace.

Extremely Slow Growth and Reproduction

Greenland sharks grow at one of the slowest rates of any shark species at approximately 1 centimeter per year. A shark measuring 4 meters long took about 400 years to reach that size. This slow growth means Greenland sharks do not reach sexual maturity until they are about 150 years old.

Life in the Arctic Deep

Greenland sharks spend most of their lives in deep cold waters between 200 and 600 meters below the surface. These sharks tolerate the crushing pressure of the deep ocean and near freezing temperatures that would kill most marine animals. Despite their size, reaching up to 7 meters and weighing over 1,000 kilograms, they move slowly and pose little threat to humans.

Diet and Hunting

Greenland sharks eat fish, seals, and carrion despite being nearly blind. Almost all adult Greenland sharks have parasitic copepods attached to their eyes that damage their vision. Scientists believe the sharks rely on smell and detecting vibrations to find food in the dark deep ocean.

Threats and Conservation

Greenland sharks face threats from commercial fishing bycatch. They accidentally get caught in nets set for other species and die before being released. Their extremely slow growth and late maturity mean populations cannot quickly recover from fishing pressure.