Biologists found a mysterious cold-water shark thousands of kilometers away from its natural habitat. Soon, they discovered that it was an old acquaintance. It is the oldest animal in the world, a Greenland shark. It was previously discovered in the tropical Caribbean Sea.
Researchers were searching for tiger sharks off the coast of Belize when the encounter occurred. The article was published in the journal Marine Biology. “Suddenly we saw a sluggish, sluggish creature under the surface of the water,” reported Devanshi Kasana. He is a biologist at Florida International University’s laboratory, Mashable. “It looked like something that would exist in prehistoric times.”
Incredible longevity
Greenland sharks are the longest-lived vertebrates on Earth. They reach a lifespan of 250 to 500 years, according to the National Ocean Service. They live thousands of feet underwater in total darkness and are rarely seen or photographed. Few details are known about their incredibly long lives, says Science Alert.
In the depths of water, they age slowly. Their lifestyle is slow and energy conservative. It is an essential adaptation to the nutrient-poor deep sea. They thrive in the deep seas of the Arctic and may inhabit other deep ocean regions, including the Caribbean.
They are mainly scavengers. The Greenland shark seen now was already on the cover of magazines in 2016 due to its incredible old age. This animal would have been born in 1505, a year before the death of Christopher Columbus. It increases in size approximately 1 centimeter per year. To estimate the age, they used a mathematical model that analyzed the shark’s lens and cornea. The researchers removed the eyes of 28 accidentally caught female specimens.
Keys to a long life
Ages ranged from 272 to 512 years, giving an average life expectancy of 392 years. This living shark could be up to 518 years old. Carbon tests have a margin of error of 120 years. In the worst case scenario he would be 395 years old.
It is important to understand how they live so many years without developing cancer or other diseases. The oldest animal in the world may provide the answers to delay human aging. In those same waters lived Ming, a clam from Iceland who was 507 years old when she died.
