400-year-old shark is the longest-living vertebrate ever

Scientists recently discovered that Greenland sharks could live for as long as 400 years, making them the longest-living vertebrates on record by a huge margin. The previous record holder was the bowhead whale, which can live up to two centuries.

Greenland sharks are world-renowned scavengers that will eat pretty much anything: whale, squid, fish, even a moose. Compared to other sharks, the Greenland is agonizingly slow, averaging a single mile per hour. It can grow to over 20 feet in length, growth can take centuries.

As reported in the journal Science, researchers led by marine biologist John Steffensen from the University of Copenhagen were able to determine that Greenland sharks —also known as the gurry shark or grey shark — grew...