This 512-Year-Old Greenland Shark Is The Oldest Living Vertebrate on The Planet

In a new paper published in Science, Danish scientists revealed that they may have discovered the oldest living vertebrate on the planet. A Greenland shark that dwells in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas — from eastern Canada to western Russia — could possibly be 512 years old.

The growth rate of Greenland sharks is extremely slow, at about 1 cm (0,3 in) per year. When the 5.4 m (18 ft) shark was spotted by scientists, it was clear that the shark has lived through a few centuries.

If the data is correct, it could mean that this shark could’ve been alive during the renaissance.