The Greenland shark is perhaps the most peculiar species of shark, found in the icy Arctic waters often at depths of 2,000 metres, down in the midnight zone of the ocean. Living at such depths has led to Greenland sharks experiencing something known as ‘deep sea gigantism’, which is the tendency for deep-sea dwelling species to be larger than their shallower-water relatives. With some growing to 6 metres long, and weighing 2,000 pounds, they are certainly among the largest shark species in the world. But despite their size, there are no cases of attacks on humans. Like the vultures of the skies, they are primarily scavengers, but strangely enough have been known to eat another ocean leviathan. Beaks of the mighty colossal squid have been found in their stomachs; invertebrates even more elusive than this deep-sea shark. The Greenland shark is truly a living fossil, with some individuals thought to be 400 years old, and possibly more. The transparent tissue of their eye lens is metabolically inactive, and new layers are added as the sharks grows older, much like the rings of a tree. When scientists experimented on the lens tissue of 28 female Greenland sharks from the north Atlantic, using radiocarbon dating on the innermost layer of the lens, they estimated the two biggest sharks to be around 335 to 392 years old.
Watch more Deep Sea Wonders:
#1 The Greenland Shark – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeOSlZYdvLY
#2 The Coelacanth – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Woo6L1bl0&t=20s
#3 The Oarfish – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baxnlt61jYc&t=25s
#4 The Ocean Sunfish – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-FK1aR1pic&t=34s
#5 The Megamouth Shark – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHhhDnksp44
#6 The Giant Squid – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-y0TNNiZOs
Footage used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFPOCh6wJKQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvtiH5r6jSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaPhWjdz6x4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOS82QTPZIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y68bQGZen_k
If you are interested, check out these similar videos from other channels on the topic of Greenland Sharks, they really are fascinating creatures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djj3-jF19F8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrmBehbYWws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyMV5B1KsS8
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