Greenland Sharks: The key to the longevity of humanity in the future?

As the oldest living vertebrate on Earth, Greenland sharks can live up to more than 400 years.

Perhaps, there is no question that sharks are one of the ocean's most dangerous predators, far ahead of most other creatures. But like terrestrial predators, shark life expectancy is not very high compared to humans, only 20-30 years in the wild, the equivalent of killer whales.

However, there is one species of shark whose life span far surpasses that of a human, an average of . 200 years old. That's the Greenland shark.

The average life span of Greenland sharks is 200 years.

Greenland shark (scientific name: Somniosus microcephalus) , is a native shark of the North Atlantic waters around Greenland and Iceland; closely related to Somniosus pacificus. They usually live in cold water from -1 degrees C to 10 degrees C, swimming at a depth of more than 2 km from the sea surface.

This is one of the largest shark species, comparable in size to a great white shark. The large Greenland shark reaches 6.4m (21 ft), weighs up to 1 ton (about 2,200 lb) and can reach a maximum length of 7.3m (24 ft), weighing over 1.4 tons (about 3,100 lb).

This is the oldest living vertebrate on Earth.

Perhaps for this reason, Greenland's swimming speed is not an advantage. They only swim at a speed of 0.76 mph (about 1.22 km / h) and the fastest is 1.6 mph (about 2.6 km / h), which is too slow compared to other sharks. This raises questions about why they can hunt seals when they are only half their speed, and one of the most feasible hypotheses is to ambush while they are sleeping.

Besides seals, Greenland sharks often hunt fish like other species. They feed on rays, eels, herring, caviar, arctic salmon, cod, halibut and even small sharks. In addition, this species has been shown to be relatively fond of scavengers , which may be attracted to the smell of rotting flesh in water. Many cases show that they can swallow corpses up to the size of a reindeer.

Greenland sharks usually hunt seals.

In food, Greenland sharks are known as one of the edible sharks. However, to avoid being hit by neurotoxins, it is necessary to boil their meat through many turns of water, or dry, or ferment for a few months by the method of burying them in the ground, causing them to undergo too much. freezing process and defrosting one after another. This capital is considered a specialty in Iceland and Greenland.

According to studies by carbon-14 dating, the average life expectancy of this species can be up to 272 years, 3 times that of humans and far beyond that of other sharks. According to scientists, the Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate ever known. They can even reach 400 years old, and especially there are individuals up to 512 years old.

Greenland sharks are originally a relatively slow growing species.

Greenland sharks are the object of important research by scientists, especially in genetics. At the moment, they are still looking forward to being able to identify and isolate genetic samples that are directly related to this longevity, by collecting multiple specimens and mapping genes. Thus, human life can be improved in the future. However, many people do not think it is a good idea, as Greenland sharks are inherently a relatively slow growing species, growing about 1cm in length each year and only mature at the age of 150.

So in your opinion, can this fish become a key to the longevity of the human race in the future?

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