The Greenland shark may live for centuries, but no individual has been observed for 400 years. A 2016 study estimated that the largest shark it examined was about 392 years old, with a wide uncertainty range. Scientists can estimate its age from proteins in its eye, while cold-water biology and possible DNA-repair adaptations offer leading—but not yet proven—explanations for its longevity.
What is the oldest Greenland shark scientists have recorded?
The oldest age estimate comes from a 2016 study by Julius Nielsen and colleagues. The researchers examined 28 female Greenland sharks and estimated that the largest, measuring 502 cm, was 392 years old, with an uncertainty of ±120 years. That range is broad: the estimate is not proof that this particular shark was exactly 392 years old, or that any individual has been confirmed to survive for more than 400 years.
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The same study estimated a lifespan of at least 272 years for the species and put the age at sexual maturity at 156 years, with an uncertainty of ±22 years. These are statistical age estimates, not ages established by watching sharks throughout their lives. The study was published in 2016, and the estimates have not been validated using an independent aging method, according to Canada’s 2025 assessment of the species.
How do scientists estimate a Greenland shark’s age?
Many fish can be aged by counting growth bands in hard parts such as ear bones. Greenland sharks do not provide a reliable equivalent: their cartilage skeletons do not preserve the kind of annual growth record needed for that approach. Instead, researchers used radiocarbon dating on the nuclei of proteins in the eye lens.
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Those lens proteins form before birth and do not degrade as the animal ages. Their radiocarbon content can therefore offer a clue to when the proteins—and, indirectly, the shark—formed. Nielsen’s team used changes in atmospheric radiocarbon associated with nuclear weapons testing to estimate ages. The method produces probability-based estimates rather than a definitive birth date.
That distinction matters because the radiocarbon signal in the deep ocean is not simple to interpret. Canada’s 2025 assessment notes that uncertainty about deep-ocean carbon conditions around the nuclear-testing “bomb pulse” means the estimates remain unvalidated. The results support the conclusion that Greenland sharks can be extraordinarily long-lived, but they do not establish a precise maximum age.
Why might Greenland sharks live so long?
There is no single confirmed explanation. The strongest current account combines the shark’s cold, deep habitat with its exceptionally slow pace of life. NOAA reports that Greenland sharks grow at less than 1 cm per year, may exceed 6 m in length, and likely have a very slow metabolism adapted to cold water. Their habitat and biology are consistent with low rates of growth and late reproduction, but consistency is not proof that any one factor causes a centuries-long lifespan.
Canada’s 2025 assessment describes the species across Arctic and North Atlantic waters, from near the surface to at least 2,900 m deep, and reports a preference for water around 0–5°C. Cold temperatures and low metabolic activity are plausible contributors to reduced cumulative physiological stress. How much they matter, and what other processes are involved, remains unresolved.
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What the evidence says about longevity
| Explanation | Evidence and scale | What is established |
|---|---|---|
| Cold habitat, slow metabolism, slow growth, and late maturity | Whole-animal ecology and life history; described by NOAA and Canada’s 2025 assessment | These traits are reported for the species and are plausible contributors, but they do not by themselves prove why it lives so long. |
| DNA repair and tumor-suppression biology | Cellular and genomic hypothesis; University of Copenhagen genome study, 2024 | The study reports candidate genetic features, including duplicated DNA-repair genes and changes involving p53. Their functional contribution to lifespan still needs to be tested. |
What Greenland shark genome research adds
A University of Copenhagen team reported a Greenland shark genome spanning 6.5 billion base pairs in 2024. The researchers highlighted duplicated DNA-repair genes and changes involving p53, often called the “guardian of the genome” because of its role in controlling damaged cells. They propose that these features may help explain how the shark maintains its cells over a long life.
This is a molecular hypothesis, not a demonstrated cause of longevity. The genome findings identify promising avenues for study; further work is needed to establish what the genes do in the shark and how much they contribute to lifespan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why a centuries-long life history matters for conservation
Slow growth and very late maturity leave little room for a population to recover when many animals are removed. A shark that takes an estimated 156 years to reach sexual maturity cannot replace losses on the timescale of faster-maturing fish. Canada’s 2025 assessment identifies slow growth, late maturity, and longevity as factors that make Greenland sharks vulnerable to overfishing.
The assessment reports bycatch in trawl, longline, and gillnet fisheries and estimates that at least 3,500 Greenland sharks are caught incidentally worldwide each year; it cautions that the total is likely an underestimate. Those figures are an estimate of bycatch, not a count of all sharks or a direct measure of population decline.
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