Who would have thought that fish are so amazing creatures that live much longer than humans? In early August, we wrote that the waters of the U.S. state South Dakota was found by the 112-year-old fish that have survived two World wars. Scientists called it the oldest fish in the world but seems to be very wrong. In Greenland waters was caught a huge shark, which, according to calculations of scientists, was born in a distant 1505. It turns out that she swam in the cold waters even in the times of Ivan the terrible?
Life expectancy of fish is really amazing. It is known that in the wild salmon can live up to 15 years and sturgeon can all safely swim until 100 years of age. But it’s flowers — legend has it that in 1794 the Moscow fishermen managed to catch a pike who lived during the reign of Boris Godunov, that is, over 200 years ago. But, compared with the wild-caught Greenland shark, even this legendary fish seems to be a teenager.
The contents
- 1 the Most long-lived sharks
- 2 how to know How much the shark years?
- 3 the oldest shark in the world
- 4 what is the secret of longevity of sharks?
The most long-lived sharks
Caught predator refers to a type of bowhead sharks. They occupy in the food chain to the top position and prey on fish, small sharks and seals. At the same time, they are the slowest sharks because the maximum speed of diving is only 2.7 miles per hour. According to scientists, this species is not chasing prey, and just stalking her.
Bowhead shark
It is also known that these sharks are not averse to eat carrion — about this, scientists have learned, having opened the bodies of some individuals. They clearly were surprised to find in the stomach of sharks, the remains of polar bears and reindeer. Probably predators, find a meal thanks to its keen sense of smell — rotting meat emit more pungent smell than regular blood.
Did you know how looks the smallest shark in the world?
How to know how much the shark years?
If you believe the results of scientific research, bowhead sharks do live a very long time, at least 200 years. We can assume that they are Champions in life expectancy among vertebrates. To determine the age of the Greenland shark by the length of her body — usually in one year, representatives of this species grow up to a centimeter.
Fishing the Greenland shark
The oldest shark in the world
Length caught the Greenland shark is equal to 5.4 meters. Based on the fact that sharks of this species each year grow by centimeter, the scientists decided, that this individual was born in 1505. In these times the king of England was Henry VIII, and Russia was ruled by Ivan the terrible. However, it is likely that scientists make a mistake, because other methods of determining the age of sharks showed a different result.
Just look at this shark it clearly has seen a lot in life
In particular, we are talking about radiocarbon analysis, which archaeologists can pretty accurately determine the age of artifacts, fossils, and paleontologists — the period of life of extinct animals. The results of the radiocarbon Dating showed that the shark was born in about 272 years ago. At the same time, the body length of the shark tells about 512 years of age. To be honest, in the results of radiocarbon Dating believe much more, and what method you trust more, write in our Telegram chat.
What is the secret of longevity of sharks?
How many years have not been caught by the shark, she is still a survivor. At the moment scientists are trying to figure out exactly what features of the body of sharks allow them to live such a long time. Previously it was thought that Greenland sharks live hundreds of years due to slow metabolism. It’s hard to believe at first, but the females reach sexual maturity in only 150 years.
This is interesting: the 10 most dangerous sharks killing people
Fish are really amazing creatures. Some species, if necessary, can even change your gender. For example, do a blue-crested talisay — if their pack isn’t the male one of the females in the course of the week changes its color and starts to behave like a male.