According to the IUCN Red List, Greenland sharks are near threatened. They’re found in the Arctic Seas, and the scientists described them as an “iconic species.” Mystery shrouds the sharks; for example the IUCN assessment says we don’t know how often they can reproduce or the duration of their gestation period.
Shark expert Steven Campana of the University of Iceland told The Guardian, “Fish biologists have tried to determine the age and longevity of Greenland sharks for decades, but without success. Given that this shark is the apex predator (king of the food chain) in Arctic waters, it is almost unbelievable that we didn’t know whether the shark lives for 20 years, or for 1,000 years.”
The scientists were able to approximate the staggering ages of these majestic predators with a unique method. They applied radiocarbon dating to protein in the eyes of 28 female Greenland sharks, caught during 2010 to 2013. The journal Science published the scientists’ research today.
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