The shark that lives 400 years and is blind for most of them
This shark may have been swimming before the United States existed.
Which one is REALLY true about the Greenland Shark?
The short version
The Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate known, with one individual dated to roughly 400 years old. It grows about a centimeter a year, does not reproduce until around 150, is functionally blind from parasites clinging to its eyes, and its flesh is toxic unless fermented for months.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Greenland Shark is the longest-lived vertebrate ever found, with one individual dated to roughly four hundred years old.
- ✓The Greenland Shark grows barely a centimetre a year.
- ✓The Greenland Shark does not reproduce until it is around one hundred and fifty years old.
- ✓The Greenland Shark is almost always functionally blind, because a parasite dangles from each of its eyes for life.
- ✓The Greenland Shark has flesh so loaded with toxins that Icelanders bury and ferment it for months before eating it.
The Greenland Shark is about 3.3× as long as a 7-year-old! 🤯
The full story
This shark may have been alive before the United States existed. Meet the Greenland shark, a giant, slow-moving predator that cruises the freezing waters of the Arctic. Scientists dated one individual to roughly four hundred years old, making it the longest-lived vertebrate ever found. They grow barely a centimeter a year, and do not even reproduce until they are around one hundred and fifty. Almost every single one is functionally blind, because a parasite dangles from each of its eyes for life. Its flesh is so loaded with toxins that eating it fresh can poison you, which is why Icelanders bury and ferment it for months first. It drifts through the dark, ancient and patient, hunting seals that never see it coming. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Greenland Shark is the longest-lived vertebrate ever found, with one individual dated to roughly four hundred years old.”
“The Greenland Shark turns the water around it into liters of choking slime in under a second.”
“The Greenland Shark grows barely a centimetre a year.”