Ee Greenland sharks can live up to 400 years and are long-lived animals in the world.Some of them were born in the '600, while the war in Europe kindled 30s and King Louis XIV ruled France.
Described in Science, sharks have been studied by a research team led by Julius Nielsen and formed by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Institute of natural resources of Greenland, Denmark's National Aquarium and the Norwegian University of the Arctic.Greenland shark, whose scientific name is 'Somniosus microcephalus', are spread across the North Atlantic waters and go to the north more than any other species of this type.Adults can reach up to 5 meters in length and grow at a very slow pace, about a centimeter per year, enough to reach sexual maturity at 150 years.
Very little is known about their biology, but according to the authors, very slow rate of their growth is the secret of longevity. To determine the average age of these fish, the researchers used radiocarbon dating technique, analyzing lens of the eye of 28 females captured during a campaign conducted between 2010 and 2013. The older group had 335 and 392 years and have reached a length of 4.93 meters and 5:02 meters. Others were young and had an average of 272 years. If people celebrate a century of life, is a rare achievement, these sharks for 100 years are still very young and live twice as much compared to other species that live longer detected so far (whales " bowhead "and who lives on average 200 years. Some turtles can exceed 170 years). However, there are invertebrates that live longer and are edible molluscs, the oldest samples of the ocean to discover ever, he went up to 507 years.
The discovery of the exceptional longevity of these sharks was a surprise to the researchers. These animals, even though they are recorded in the books of science in the late '800 and are still very mysterious, because very little is known of them. Knowing that these sharks are the oldest living on the planet and have gone through several centuries of history for researchers is one more reason to protect the species.
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