Scientists Discover 512-Year-Old Shark, Which Would Be The Oldest Living Vertebrate On The Planet (Pics & Video)

A couple of months ago, a group of scientists discovered an ancient shark in the North Atlantic ocean. While they knew that this shark had definitely reached senior age, they didn’t realize until recently that the animal is estimated to be a whopping 512 years old. At 512 years, that would make this ancient shark the oldest living vertebrate in the world. Watch video at the end of this article.

Previously, scientists used the size of the animal to determine their length. Sharks of the same 'Somniosidae' family, usually grow about 0.4 inches per year. While this method can give a rough estimate of a shark's age, it's by no means scientifically accurate, especially once a certain maturity has been reached. "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," expert Steven Campana from the University of Iceland stated.