Greenland shark (Greenland sharkIt belongs to a family of sharks called Sleeper Sharks and slowly moves through the water to stealth. They are the longest-lived vertebrates, or spine-bearing animals, and survive up to hundreds of years in the deep, cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean.
These sharks sneak up on live prey and clean up other sharks, seals, drowned horses, polar bears and other dead animals. Scientists are learning more and more about these mysterious sharks, which rarely meet humans, but there are still many unknowns surrounding their lifestyle.
How big is the greenland shark?
Greenland shark The largest shark in the worldAccording to, it can be up to 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and weigh up to 2,645 pounds (1,200 kilograms). St. Lawrence Shark Observatory (ORS).It’s longer Great white shark (((Great white shark), The length is estimated to be up to 20 feet (6 m), and unconfirmed reports can reach 23 feet (7 m) in length. Florida Museum of Natural History..
Important facts
size: Up to 24 feet (7.3 m)
lifespan: 272 (estimated)
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Greenland sharks have a cylindrical body that can be black, brown, gray, or a mixture of all three colors and may have spots. These sharks also have tooth-like scales called dermal denticles that cover the surface of the body. According to the ORS, the scale reduces drag and helps sharks move more quietly in the water. The mouth of the greenland shark has 48-52 teeth on the upper jaw and 50-52 teeth on the lower jaw. According to the ORS, the upper teeth are sharp to help the shark hold larger food, but the lower teeth are wide and bent sideways, so the shark should circle its head. By moving it, you can cut out a round chunk of meat from the prey.
Marine parasite called Ommatokoita elongata It often adheres to the eyes of greenland sharks. Parasites tend to live in one eye of a shark, but they can still partially blind the shark.Parasites do not seem to affect sharks much, as sharks are more dependent on other senses to catch their prey in the dark waters. Florida Museum of Natural History..
Related: Ancient Greenland shark reveals its age in a spooky underwater video
How long do greenland sharks live?
The exact lifespan of the greenland shark is unknown, but it is considered the longest-lived shark in the world and the longest-lived vertebrate.2016 study of shark eye organization published in the journal Chemistry The maximum life span of Greenland sharks is estimated to be at least 272 years. Researchers estimated that the oldest greenland shark in the study was about 392 years old, but there was a large error of 120 years in the estimation, and it was estimated that the greenland shark could live up to 512 years old. The estimated range has not been verified.
“It’s important to remember that there is uncertainty in this estimate,” said Julius Nielsen, co-author of the 2016 paper. I told live science before.. “But even in the lowest part of the age range (at least 272 years old), Greenland sharks are still the longest-lived vertebrates known in science.”
Greenland sharks live in slow lanes and have a maximum swimming speed of less than 1.8 mph (2.9 km / h). It also grows slowly at less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per year and is slow to metabolize. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scientists still don’t know how Greenland sharks live long, but that may be related to their slow way of life.
Related: No, scientists haven’t found a 512-year-old greenland shark
Where do the greenland sharks live?
Greenland sharks live from North America to the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. Greenland And from Portugal to the East Siberian Sea, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). IUCN says sharks have a wide range and can be found swimming from the surface to a depth of 8,684 feet (2,647 m).
Scientists still need to learn a lot about how Greenland sharks live and breed. Female greenland sharks give birth to young creatures called puppies that hatch from the soft eggs they carry into their bodies.In a 2020 study published in the journal PLOS OneResearchers have estimated that Greenland sharks give birth to 200-324 pups per pregnancy, depending on the size of the shark. Greenland shark puppies are only 14-18 inches (35-45 centimeters) long at birth.
What do greenland sharks eat?
Greenland sharks have a variety of diets, including fish, other sharks, eels, and marine mammals. seal..They have also been found in drowned terrestrial animals, including: Horse When reindeerAccording to the University of Michigan, they eat together whales and fish debris, found in large numbers in their stomachs and at sea level, and killed during commercial whaling and fishing. Animal Diversity Web (ADW).
Classification of greenland sharks
Kingdom: Animal kingdom
gate: Chordate
class: Cartilaginous fish
Orde: Squaliform shark
family: Somniosidae
Genus and Species: Greenland shark
sauce: ITIS
Scientists have discovered a greenland shark with a youth jaw Polar bear (((Ursus maritimus) In that stomach Reuters Reported in 2008. Researchers weren’t sure how it got there. However, most shark experts believed that living polar bears are too dangerous for sharks to take over, so polar bears are likely already dead when they eat them. Researchers also discovered during a 2014 study published in the journal that there was polar bear muscle tissue and skin in the stomach of another greenland shark. Polar biology, And they concluded that the bear was probably cleaned rather than hunted.
Greenland sharks are near the top of the food chain, Sperm whale (((Sperm whale) You can hunt them. Chris Harvey-Clark, co-founder of the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG, now ORS), wrote: Capea, Online Science Communication Magazine, about the record of the greenland shark that appears to escape from the echolocation click of the foraging sperm whale. After his death, the sperm whale was found with its teeth worn on a stump. Orca (((Orcinus orca) Feed the sleeper shark (Sleeper shark), This is closely related to Greenland sharks and has tough skin as well. Therefore, Harvey Clark theorized that sperm whales hunted greenland sharks. Scientists have not yet observed sperm whales hunting these sharks elsewhere.
Related: Sperm whales surpassed 19th century whalers by sharing evasive tactics
Are Greenland Sharks Dangerous?
There are no verified reports of Greenland sharks attacking humans. However, some anecdotal evidence suggests that such an attack may occur. For GEERG divers, a team of divers observed the “stalker” of the greenland shark. They also saw greenland sharks investigating divers’ activities as if they were scouting seal prey. ORS.. Around 1859, a greenland shark with human feet in the stomach was discovered off the coast of Baffin Island, Canada, but this report has not been confirmed.
According to a 1991 study published in the journal, untreated greenland shark meat contains high levels of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), which is broken down into toxic trimethylamine (TMA) compounds during digestion, and thus affects the human body. It is toxic. Toxicon.. TMA can cause serious bowel problems, with effects similar to excessive alcohol intake. Greenland shark meat is edible only when it is dry. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, dried meat is given to sled dogs in northern regions such as Greenland. Sharks are also fermented and consumed as a delicacy in Iceland.
Is the greenland shark endangered?
NS IUCN We believe that the greenland shark is on the verge of extinction. Humans killed Greenland sharks in the 13th and 20th centuries for cod liver oil used in lamps and other products. The commercial fishing for shark oil in Greenland ended by the 1960s, which helped their populations. However, greenland sharks are caught and killed by bycatch or by large nets dragged along the seabed aimed at catching large numbers of fish, for example, animals raised with the intended catch by fishermen. I’m continuing. Most of the greenland sharks that humans eat and feed to dogs are bycatch, but some sharks are targeted at small scale.
The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), an intergovernmental organization of fisheries science and control, bans direct fishing of greenland sharks and seeks to reduce bycatch. NAFO applies to most Northwest Atlantic fisheries, including countries such as the United States and Canada. IUCN recommends developing and implementing additional protection, such as bycatch policies, for Greenland sharks.
IUCN estimates that the population of greenland sharks has declined by 30% to 49% over the last 450 years, or three generations of sharks. However, this reduction was estimated based on the 150-year conservative greenland shark lifespan. If sharks have a long lifespan, the decline can be much greater as it takes longer to reach breeding age and produce more sharks. The population of greenland sharks in the world is unknown. Climate change It also damages species by reducing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. This gives fishing fleets easy access to Greenland’s shark habitat.
Additional resources
- Greenland sharks and other deep-sea creatures NOAA Northeast US Canyons Expedition In 2013.
- Watch this short video on YouTube about how Greenland shark meat is cooked and consumed in Iceland. Food insider..
- For more information on where Greenland sharks live, see our interactive map. Encyclopedia of Life..
Greenland Shark: The longest-lived vertebrate
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