Scientists have found the oldest living vertebrate on Earth

It is difficult to imagine any creature born in 1505 and still alive. It was the year when Martin Luther became a monk, and King Henry VIII canceled his engagement with Catherine of Aragon ... well, insanely long ago.

But scientists believe that they have found just such an insanely old creature - a massive Greenland shark swimming in the waters of the Arctic Ocean.

The shark, according to the upper estimate of 512 years, which makes it the oldest living vertebrate in the world, is even older than Shakespeare. And do you still consider yourself old at 30?

Greenland sharks are known to live for hundreds of years and spend most of their lives swimming in the ocean in search of a partner.

They also grow at a rate of about one centimeter per year, which allows scientists to determine their age by measuring their size.

This particular shark, one of the 28 Greenland sharks that scientists studied, was 18 feet or five and a half meters long and weighed more than a ton, which means it could be 272 - 512 years old.

The potential age of the shark was indicated in a publication in the journal Science.

If scientists correctly calculated the age of the shark, it was alive during times of major historical events, such as the founding of the United States, the Industrial Revolution, and both World Wars.

Greenland sharks mostly eat fish, but have never been seen while hunting. Some were found pieces of deer and horses in the stomach. An animal is a delicacy in Norway, but its meat is poisonous if it is not cooked in a special way.



Because of their longevity, scientists in Norway believe that the bones and tissues of these sharks can give us information about the effects of climate change and pollution over a long period of history.

Researchers at the Arctic University of Norway are currently mapping the animal's DNA, studying its genes, to learn more about what determines life expectancy for various species, including humans.

Since many sharks are older than the Industrial Revolution and large-scale commercial fishing, they are even called “life time capsules” that can help shed light on how humans affect the oceans.

“The longest-lived vertebrate species on the planet has formed several populations in the Atlantic Ocean,” said Professor Kim Prebel at a symposium organized by the Society of the British Isles Fisheries.

"It is important to know that we can develop appropriate measures to preserve this important species."