A shark found off the coast of Greenland is the oldest known vertebrate in the world. The shark is an impressive 400 years old.
To put this sharks life into the perspective, the shark was living when a lot of events in history were happening. World War 2. World War 1. The sinking of the Titanic. The Victorian Era. And even the Gunpowder Plot, which sought to dispose of King James of the United Kingdom.
This shark is living history. And has lived a very long time!
The future for the Greenland shark is not so optimistic though. According to the IUCN Red List, a group which monitors and lists species from endangered to threatened. Has said that the Greenland shark is threatened with extinction.
Scientists have described the Greenland shark as an ''ionic species''. We won't argue with that. They are an iconic species.