400-year-old shark ‘oldest vertebrate’
400-year-old shark ‘oldest vertebrate’
Greenland sharks are now considered the longest-living vertebrates known on Earth, scientists say.
Researchers
used radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of 28 of the animals, and
estimated that one female was about 400 years old.The team found that the sharks grow at just 1cm a year, and reach sexual maturity at about the age of 150.
The research is published in the journal Science.