07/27/2026
A shark swimming today may have been born before the United States existed. 🦈 Scientists studying the Arctic Ocean found a Greenland shark estimated to be around 392 years old, meaning it could have been alive since the early 1600s. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen used a rare radiocarbon dating method on proteins inside the shark's eye lens, since these sharks have no bones or fin spines that record age like tree rings. The study was published in the journal Science and remains one of the most cited discoveries in marine biology.
This slow moving giant grows less than one centimeter a year and does not even reach maturity until around 150 years old. 🌊 It is humbling to think something can outlive empires while barely moving through the same cold water. Scientists note the age comes with a large margin of error, so it is an estimate and not a confirmed fact.
📌Sources: Science journal 2016, University of Copenhagen, Julius Nielsen research team. ❄️
