11/07/2025
Researchers used radiocarbon dating on eye-lens proteins of Greenland sharks and found some individuals could be 335 to 392 years old—making them the longest-lived vertebrates known.
• One widely-reported age estimate places a female shark’s birth year at around 1620, which means it would be over 400 years old today.
• Greenland sharks grow extremely slowly, inhabit deep, cold waters, reach sexual maturity at approximately 150 years of age, and live in a metabolism-slowed lifestyle that likely supports such extreme longevity.
Why this is extraordinary:
• A vertebrate living for centuries is almost unheard of. It rewrites our understanding of how long large marine animals can live.
• Such longevity has huge implications for conservation: if a shark takes 150 years to reproduce, then population recovery is extremely slow—making them much more vulnerable.
• This challenges human-centric timeframes: a shark that might have been born when the Mayflower landed (1620) is still swimming today—silent witness to centuries of change.
Important caveats:
• We cannot confirm that a specific individual shark we’ve tracked was definitely born exactly in 1620. The estimate is derived from modelled age ranges from samples.
• Much of this species’ life remains hidden—in deep Arctic waters with limited direct observation.
• Age estimates involve some uncertainty; the 150-500 year range is broad.
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Greenland Shark Longevity
Researchers have used radiocarbon dating of eye-lens proteins to estimate the ages of Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus), revealing that some individuals may be between 335 and 392 years old—making them the longest-lived vertebrates known. One particularly famous estimate suggests that a female shark could have been born around the year 1620, meaning it would be over 400 years old today.
These sharks are remarkable for their extremely slow growth rates—about 1 centimeter per year—and their habitat in the cold, deep waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. They reach sexual maturity only after about 150 years, and their slow metabolism likely contributes to their extraordinary lifespan.
Why This Is Extraordinary
A vertebrate surviving for centuries is almost unheard of, fundamentally reshaping our understanding of vertebrate aging and longevity.
The findings have major conservation implications: if it takes over a century for these sharks to reproduce, their populations recover very slowly after decline, making them highly vulnerable to overfishing and environmental changes.
It also challenges human perceptions of time—imagine a shark born when the Mayflower reached North America still alive today, silently moving through the depths as centuries of human history unfolded above.
Important Caveats
Scientists cannot confirm exact birth years for individual sharks; the dates are model-based estimates derived from radiocarbon dating results.
Much of the Greenland shark’s life remains poorly understood, as the species inhabits deep, remote Arctic waters that are difficult to study.
Age estimates carry uncertainty, with possible lifespans ranging from 150 to over 500 years, depending on individual
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Researchers used radiocarbon dating on eye-lens proteins of Greenland sharks and found some individuals could be 335 to 392 years old—making them the longest-lived vertebrates known.
• One widely-reported age estimate places a female shark’s birth year at around 1620, which means it would be over 400 years old today.
• Greenland sharks grow extremely slowly, inhabit deep, cold waters, reach sexual maturity at approximately 150 years of age, and live in a metabolism-slowed lifestyle that likely supports such extreme longevity.
Why this is extraordinary:
• A vertebrate living for centuries is almost unheard of. It rewrites our understanding of how long large marine animals can live.
• Such longevity has huge implications for conservation: if a shark takes 150 years to reproduce, then population recovery is extremely slow—making them much more vulnerable.
• This challenges human-centric timeframes: a shark that might have been born when the Mayflower landed (1620) is still swimming today—silent witness to centuries of change.
Important caveats:
• We cannot confirm that a specific individual shark we’ve tracked was definitely born exactly in 1620. The estimate is derived from modelled age ranges from samples.
• Much of this species’ life remains hidden—in deep Arctic waters with limited direct observation.
• Age estimates involve some uncertainty; the 150-500 year range is broad.some details in all paragraph
ChatGPT said:
Here’s your text with the bold formatting removed and slightly refined for clarity and flow:
Researchers used radiocarbon dating on eye-lens proteins of Greenland sharks and found that some individuals could be between 335 and 392 years old, making them the longest-lived vertebrates known.
• One widely reported age estimate places a female shark’s birth year around 1620, meaning it would be over 400 years old today.
• Greenland sharks grow extremely slowly, inhabit deep, cold waters, reach sexual maturity at approximately 150 years of age, and live with an exceptionally slow metabolism that likely supports such extreme longevity.
Why this is extraordinary:
• A vertebrate living for centuries is almost unheard of. This discovery rewrites our understanding of how long large marine animals can live.
• Such longevity has major implications for conservation: if a shark takes 150 years to reach reproductive age, population recovery is extremely slow, making the species highly vulnerable.
• It also challenges human-centered perceptions of time—a shark possibly born when the Mayflower landed in 1620 could still be swimming today, a silent witness to four centuries of change.
Important caveats:
• Scientists cannot confirm that any specific shark was definitely born in 1620; the estimate comes from modelled age ranges based on samples.
• Much of the species’ life remains hidden in deep Arctic waters, where direct observation is limited.
• Age estimates carry uncertainty, with a potential range between 150 and 500 years.
