Scientists have found the oldest animal on earth: this polar shark already 512 years

Scientists caught in the North Atlantic shark born, according to some estimates, in 1505. Determining fish age using radiocarbon Dating, they announced that this "lady" may be an absolute record for the duration of life among vertebrates.

This shark is the Greenland, or polar, sharks, which grow all his life, adding approximately 1 cm per year. The fact that some of them reach sizes of more than five meters, said about the huge lifespan of these fish. But check it failed until now.

The age of the sharks have learned to determine through radiocarbon Dating. The researchers conducted radiocarbon analysis of a lens nucleus of the eye of sharks.

Marine biologist Julius Nielsen from the University of Copenhagen found that a 5.4-metre-long Greenland shark that his team studied there was at least 272 years older than expected. She has more than 512 years.

The animal was found a few months ago. The potential age of the shark was installed in the study of the Arctic University of Norway, published in the journal Science. The shark could have been born in 1505, that is, she's older than Shakespeare. Scientists checked 28 other sharks of this type, they, too, can be a long-liver.

These massive slow-moving predators live in the cold waters of the Arctic ocean and the North Atlantic. Reach sexual maturity they are in "tender age" 150 years.

Scientists attribute the longevity of this species is very sluggish metabolism and low temperature environment. Recent studies have shown that cold environments can help to slow down aging, and these centuries-old sharks certainly are proof of that.

For these wonderful creatures longevity can be expensive: this species often suffers from worm parasites that infest the eyes.

Shark parasite Ommatokoita elongata

Attacks on humans attributed to bowhead sharks are extremely rare. They live in cold waters, where it is almost impossible to meet someone. However, a reported case in the Gulf of St. Lawrence bowhead shark followed the vessel. Another shark chased a group of divers and drove them to rise to the surface of the water.

Some fishermen believe that bowhead sharks ruin equipment and destroy the fish, and regard them as pests. Therefore, when caught, they cut off the sharks tail fin and throw them overboard. Being caught, bowhead sharks practically no resistance.

These Arctic centenarians are a kind of "time capsules", and their study may allow to investigate the impact of human civilization on the oceans.