This Massive Shark Is Older Than America And She's Still Alive And Kicking

Shark Week 2016 has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of ocean predators out there prowling the water for their next meal.

When we compare ourselves to sharks, sure they outmatch us in the physical strength and ferocity departments, but there’s no way they beat us in the age department, right? We humans live longer, more fruitful lives than sharks. Well, not if we’re talking about Greenland sharks.

The Greenland shark, also known as the gray shark, has some amazing genetics. A study of several deceased female Greenland sharks found that the largest one had lived for about 400 years and only died quite recently.

The study looked at the bodies of 28 Greenland sharks in total. Of those 28, eight were at least 200 years old when they died.

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The biggest shark researchers looked at was probably born around 1620. That would make her older than the United States!

When Greenland sharks are born, they grow at the maddeningly slow pace of about one centimeter per year. Most only reach sexual maturity around the age of 150.

Who knows what keys to aging further study of these Greenland sharks might uncover…

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(via Mysterious Universe)

Now that is amazing. I would love to see a whole special on the Greenland shark. I wonder how they would stack up against the more ferocious predators in the ocean…