Greenland shark
Somniosus microcephalus
Size, compared with you
You: 1.7 m. Greenland shark: 5.5 m.
Bigger than a car. Grows up to about 5.5 m.
A slow, big shark of the icy North Atlantic and Arctic. It cruises along at only about one kilometre an hour and spends much of its life in very cold, very deep water.
The weird bit
The Greenland shark may live for hundreds of years. Scientists dated the lenses of their eyes and estimated lifespans of at least 272 years, which makes it the longest-lived backboned animal we know of.
Quick facts
- Where it lives
- Cold polar water, Deep seaDown to 2,200 m
- What it eats
- Fish such as cod and skates, seals, squid, and carrion
- How worried are we?
- In trouble (Vulnerable)Assessed in 2019 by the IUCN Red List.