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512-year-old shark the oldest living vertebrate on Earth?

Listen to this article Scientists have encountered in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean probably the oldest living vertebrate on the planet. The remarkable senior citizen is a 512-year-old polar shark. While the encounter itself took place several months ago, information about it and a summary of the research has only now been published in
Published: December 15, 2017 - 07:45
Updated: July 22, 2023 - 13:53
512-year-old shark the oldest living vertebrate on Earth?
Listen to this article

Scientists have encountered in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean probably the oldest living vertebrate on the planet. The remarkable senior citizen is a 512-year-old polar shark. While the encounter itself took place several months ago, information about it and a summary of the research has only now been published in the prestigious journal Science.


The research team, led by marine biologist Julius Nielsen, studied 28 polar sharks, including a 5.5-metre-long individual that could be as old as 512 years! Nielsen specialises in this particular species, which was the subject of his PhD.

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Dr Nielsen and his team determined the age of the study shark by examining the lens of its eye, using the method of radiocarbon dating. Usually the age is determined by examining calcified tissues, but in this case this was not possible because this shark has no such tissues. The lens of the eye is already formed in the foetus and is therefore as old as the shark itself.

About the study of the aforementioned group of 28 sharks and the unusual species that is the polar shark, we wrote in August 2016.

The polar shark, also known as the Greenlandic shark, is a unique species distinguished by its slowness and longevity. They are the slowest sharks in the world. They move at a speed of 1.2 km/h.

They reach sexual maturity at the age of… 150 years! No wonder that the oldest specimens examined so far were almost 400 years old. On average, they reach a size of 4-5 metres, but the largest specimen encountered measured 6.4 metres, and probably the upper limit oscillates around the size of 7.3 metres!

Polar sharks inhabit the waters of Greenland, the North Sea, the North Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the White Sea. It is occasionally found in waters a little further south.

Source: ibtimes.com, news.ku.dk

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About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis
Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.
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