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Greenland sharks are currently regarded as the longest-lived known vertebrates. A 2016 study estimated that the largest shark in its sample was 392 ± 120 years old, using radiocarbon dating of eye-lens nuclei. That does not mean every Greenland shark lives exactly 392 years, or that 392 years is an average. The estimate’s broad interval is approximately 272 to 512 years, and Canada’s 2025 species assessment says the method remains uncertain and has not been independently validated.
The best vertebrate comparison is the bowhead whale, which NOAA says may live more than 200 years. Ocean quahogs can reach about 500 years, and some deep-sea corals are reported at more than 4,000 years, but those are invertebrates; corals may also be colonies rather than single animals. Comparisons are meaningful only when you distinguish maximum estimates from typical ages, the dating method, uncertainty, and whether the subject is one vertebrate animal.
Greenland sharks versus other longevity records
The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) holds the strongest current claim to the longest lifespan known for a vertebrate. The claim rests on a radiocarbon study, not on counting annual growth rings or observing a shark for centuries. The study examined 28 female sharks measuring 81 to 502 centimetres in total length. For the largest sampled shark, the estimate was 392 years with an uncertainty of plus or minus 120 years.
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That interval matters. It places the estimated age somewhere around 272 to 512 years under the study’s method. The lower bound is also why the paper described the species’ lifespan as at least 272 years. NOAA repeats the estimate as a 272–512-year range, while warning that carbon dating provides estimates rather than a definitive age.
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| Animal | Vertebrate? | Longevity figure | How the figure was obtained or presented | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland shark | Yes | 392 ± 120 years for the largest shark sampled; at least 272 years in the study’s lifespan statement | Radiocarbon dating of eye-lens nuclei in a 2016 study | An estimate for one large sampled shark, not a species average; the method remains uncertain |
| Bowhead whale | Yes | Possibly more than 200 years | NOAA describes a possible lifespan for the species | A broad possible maximum, not a directly method-matched estimate to the shark figure |
| Ocean quahog | No; it is a bivalve mollusc | About 500 years | NOAA reports the longevity of this clam | It is an invertebrate and therefore does not challenge the vertebrate record |
| Deep-sea corals | No; corals are invertebrates | More than 4,000 years has been reported for living deep-sea corals | NOAA reports ages for corals using coral-growth and dating evidence | Many corals are colonies of polyps, not a single individual animal |
Because the records use different evidence and sometimes describe different biological units, there is no scientifically clean universal ranking that simply places every “oldest animal” number in one column.
How scientists estimated a Greenland shark’s age
Eye-lens nuclei preserve an early-life signal
The 2016 study, published in Science, used radiocarbon measurements from nuclei in the sharks’ eye lenses. The lens nucleus forms during early development and remains metabolically stable, allowing scientists to compare its carbon isotope signature with known changes in atmospheric and oceanic radiocarbon.
This is fundamentally different from ageing a fish by counting rings in ear bones or scales. Greenland sharks do not provide a routinely validated annual ring structure that can be counted for a precise age. The radiocarbon approach instead produces a model-based estimate tied to the carbon environment in which the lens formed.
The primary study is indexed by PubMed as Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark. Its sample included females from 81 to 502 centimetres long, giving the researchers a size range from which to model age and growth.
What “392 ± 120 years” actually says
The 392-year figure belongs to the largest animal in that sample, a 502-centimetre shark. The plus-or-minus 120 years is not a minor statistical footnote: it expresses a very wide uncertainty interval. Reporting “Greenland sharks live 392 years” turns an estimate for one unusually large sampled animal into a false typical lifespan.
A more accurate sentence is: The largest shark in a 2016 sample was estimated at 392 ± 120 years, implying an approximate range of 272 to 512 years under that analysis. The study’s abstract therefore concluded that the species is the longest-lived known vertebrate, while also identifying conservation concerns.
What the sample can and cannot show
All 28 animals in the original analysis were female. That design provided a useful set of eye lenses across a broad length range, but it does not give a complete picture of variation among males, females, regions or age classes. The smallest shark measured 81 centimetres and the largest 502 centimetres; the oldest result came from the largest individual, not from an average of the 28 sharks.
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Length is consequently an important part of the interpretation. The study used size and radiocarbon information together to infer an age pattern, rather than assigning a directly observed birthday to every animal. A large shark is likely to be older under that growth model, but the model still carries uncertainty about growth rates and the carbon history of deep water. The available result supports centuries-long survival; it does not establish a single fixed lifespan that applies to every Greenland shark.
Greenland shark maturity is exceptionally late
Estimated age at sexual maturity
The same radiocarbon analysis estimated age at sexual maturity at 156 ± 22 years. This is an age estimate, not a statement that every shark becomes mature at exactly 156 years. It is also separate from the length at which maturity occurs.
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Length-based maturity estimates
Canada’s 2025 Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessment reports body-length maturity estimates of 419 ± 4 centimetres for females and 284 ± 6 centimetres for males. Those figures describe size, whereas 156 ± 22 years describes age. A shark can reach a given length at different ages depending on growth conditions, so the two measures should not be substituted for one another.
The COSEWIC report is available in the Government of Canada’s Greenland Shark status report. It emphasizes that the age estimates carry substantial uncertainty.
Why maturity and longevity must be reported separately
A maturity estimate answers when reproduction may begin; a maximum-lifespan estimate answers how long an individual may survive. They are different demographic quantities. The 156 ± 22-year estimate should not be presented as a minimum lifespan, a typical age at death or a guarantee that reproduction starts at the same age in every population. Likewise, a 419-centimetre female or 284-centimetre male is identified by body size, not by a calendar age.
The bowhead whale is the closest vertebrate comparison
Bowhead whales are the most useful comparison because they are also vertebrates with a documented potential lifespan measured in centuries. NOAA describes the bowhead as the longest-lived marine mammal and says it may live 200-plus years. That places bowheads well beyond the lifespan of almost every other mammal, but below the Greenland shark’s central estimate.
The two figures are not equivalent measurements. The Greenland number is a radiocarbon estimate with an explicit uncertainty interval for the largest shark sampled. NOAA’s bowhead statement is a broad possible lifespan for the species. It does not provide a matching 392 ± 120-style interval in the cited explainer.
Consequently, it is reasonable to say that Greenland sharks currently have the higher known vertebrate longevity estimate, while avoiding the claim that scientists measured both species with identical precision. NOAA’s comparison is summarized on What is the longest-lived marine mammal?.
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The bowhead comparison supplies scale without pretending that the underlying evidence is identical. Both animals are individual vertebrates, and both records concern possible survival over multiple human lifetimes. The shark estimate, however, is tied to a particular 502-centimetre animal and a stated uncertainty range. The whale figure is NOAA’s broad “200-plus” description. A careful headline can therefore say that the Greenland shark leads the known vertebrate record while noting that the ranking is based on unlike estimates.
Why the ocean quahog and corals do not overturn the vertebrate record
Ocean quahog: an older invertebrate
NOAA reports an ocean quahog lifespan of about 500 years. That number is older than the Greenland shark’s 392-year central estimate, but a quahog is a clam, not a vertebrate. Vertebrates have backbones; molluscs do not. The quahog is therefore a useful example of extreme animal longevity, not a competing entry in the longest-lived-vertebrate category.
Corals: ancient, but often colonial
NOAA also notes ages of more than 4,000 years for living deep-sea corals. Coral biology complicates the comparison further. Many corals are colonies of genetically connected polyps. An age assigned to a colony or structure does not necessarily represent the lifespan of one continuously living, single animal in the way a shark or whale is an individual.
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These distinctions explain why “What animal lives longer than a Greenland shark?” has more than one answer. Invertebrates such as ocean quahogs and some corals have older reported ages, but no older vertebrate lifespan is firmly established by the cited evidence.
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It is the leading and widely cited answer, but “definitively” would overstate the evidence. COSEWIC’s 2025 assessment says there is currently no viable alternative method for validating Greenland shark ages and identifies uncertainty in deep-ocean radiocarbon dynamics. If the carbon history used in the model differs from the assumptions, the resulting ages could shift.
That does not make the estimate useless. The method is consistent with a species that grows slowly and reaches maturity only after many decades or centuries. It does mean that the 392-year value should be presented as an estimate with a broad interval, not as a directly observed birthday.
NOAA makes the same general caution in its explainer How long do Greenland sharks live?: “Carbon dating can only provide estimates, not a definitive age.”
What independent validation would change
A separate, viable ageing method could test whether the radiocarbon model gives the right ages. COSEWIC reports that no such alternative is currently available. Until one exists, repeating the 392 ± 120-year result in later publications does not turn it into a newly measured age. The 2026 genome paper, for example, reiterates the estimate but does not validate it independently.
Why the longevity matters for conservation
Slow replacement makes recovery difficult
A very long-lived animal can survive individual hazards for a long time, but a population may recover slowly when adults are removed. COSEWIC estimates Greenland shark generation time from 63 to more than 200 years, with 150–200 years considered likely under current estimates. Generation time is the average interval between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring; it is not the same as maximum lifespan.
Late maturity, slow growth and long generation length limit how quickly the population can replace breeding adults. COSEWIC reports that population size and trends remain unknown because available estimates are highly uncertain. The practical implication is that a disturbance lasting only a few decades can overlap a substantial fraction of a generation.
Uncertainty is not evidence of safety
Uncertain population numbers do not imply that the species is secure. They mean managers have less precision when estimating abundance, trend and sustainable removal. A long-lived species can appear stable for years while losing older reproductive animals, because demographic effects may emerge only after a long delay.
The same traits that make the shark remarkable—a slow pace of growth, very late maturity and long generation time—can increase the consequences of accidental capture or other sustained pressures. Conservation decisions therefore have to account for delayed replacement, even when exact abundance and trend estimates are unavailable.
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What the Greenland shark genome may explain
A 2026 genome study in PNAS revisited the species’ extreme lifespan and repeated the estimate of 392 ± 120 years. It did not validate the age independently or replace the radiocarbon method. Instead, it identified biological features that may help explain how the species tolerates ageing.
The paper discusses candidate signals involving immune function, cancer resistance, DNA repair and stability of chromatin associated with histone H1.0. These are research hypotheses and potential mechanisms, not proven causes of longevity. The genome cannot by itself establish that a particular pathway makes a shark live for centuries.
The peer-reviewed study is The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics. Its repeated 392 ± 120 figure should therefore be read as a restatement of the existing estimate, not as a newly measured age.
How to compare longevity claims without being misled
- Identify the biological subject. Ask whether the number describes one individual, a colony, or a species-level possibility.
- Separate vertebrates from invertebrates. A 500-year clam or 4,000-year coral does not compete with a shark in a vertebrate ranking.
- Check whether the number is typical or exceptional. The shark’s 392 ± 120 years belongs to the largest animal in a 28-female sample, not to an average shark.
- Read the method and uncertainty. Radiocarbon estimates, growth-ring counts and broad institutional descriptions do not have interchangeable precision.
- Keep maturity separate from lifespan. A 156 ± 22-year maturity estimate does not mean the shark dies soon after reproducing, and a length threshold is not an age threshold.
- Look for independent validation. COSEWIC reports that no viable alternative age method currently validates the Greenland shark estimate.
- Check the date and wording. The 2016 study supplied the original estimate, NOAA’s pages updated in 2026 summarize the comparison figures, COSEWIC’s 2025 assessment describes unresolved uncertainty, and the 2026 genome paper repeats rather than replaces the age result.
Direct answers to the common questions
How long do Greenland sharks live?
The best-supported published estimate is that the species can live at least 272 years. For the largest shark in the 2016 sample, the estimate was 392 ± 120 years, corresponding approximately to 272–512 years. This is not a precise or typical age for every shark.
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They are currently regarded as the longest-lived known vertebrates. That conclusion is based on the 2016 eye-lens radiocarbon study, but the age method has unresolved uncertainty and has not been independently validated.
What lives longer than a Greenland shark?
Some invertebrates do: NOAA reports ocean quahogs at about 500 years and living deep-sea corals at more than 4,000 years. Those comparisons involve different animal groups, and corals may be colonies. No older vertebrate lifespan is established by the evidence summarized here.
Is 392 years the average Greenland shark lifespan?
No. It is the estimate for the largest shark in a 28-female 2016 sample. The ±120-year uncertainty is broad, and the study did not establish a species-wide average lifespan.
How old is a Greenland shark when it becomes sexually mature?
The radiocarbon study estimated sexual maturity at 156 ± 22 years. COSEWIC separately reports maturity lengths of 419 ± 4 centimetres for females and 284 ± 6 centimetres for males. Age and body size are different measurements.
Could the estimate be revised?
Yes. COSEWIC identifies uncertainty in deep-ocean radiocarbon dynamics and says no viable alternative age method is currently available. A future validation method or improved carbon-history model could refine the estimate.
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Bottom line
Greenland sharks lead the known vertebrate longevity record because a radiocarbon study estimated centuries-long lives, with 392 ± 120 years for its largest sampled shark and at least 272 years for the species. Bowhead whales are the nearest vertebrate comparison at a possible 200-plus years. Older figures for ocean quahogs and corals are real longevity records for invertebrates, not competing vertebrate ages. The shark’s record is compelling but remains an estimate whose uncertainty should appear every time the number is reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do Greenland sharks live?
The species is estimated to live at least 272 years. The largest shark in the 2016 sample was estimated at 392 ± 120 years, an approximate 272–512-year range rather than a typical lifespan.
Are Greenland sharks the longest-lived vertebrates?
They are currently regarded as the longest-lived known vertebrates, although the radiocarbon estimate has substantial uncertainty and no independent validation is currently available.
What animal lives longer than a Greenland shark?
NOAA reports ocean quahogs at about 500 years and living deep-sea corals at more than 4,000 years. Both are invertebrates, and many corals are colonies, so neither is a competing vertebrate record.
Is 392 years the average age of a Greenland shark?
No. It is an estimate for the largest shark in a sample of 28 females. The ±120-year interval is broad and should not be presented as an average.
When do Greenland sharks become sexually mature?
The 2016 analysis estimated sexual maturity at 156 ± 22 years. Separate COSEWIC figures describe maturity by body length, not age: 419 ± 4 centimetres for females and 284 ± 6 centimetres for males.
Why is the age estimate uncertain?
The estimate depends on radiocarbon in eye-lens nuclei and assumptions about deep-ocean carbon dynamics. COSEWIC reports that no viable alternative ageing method currently validates the result.
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The Bottom Line
Greenland sharks remain the leading longest-lived vertebrates, but 392 ± 120 years is a broad estimate for one large sampled shark—not an average. Bowhead whales may exceed 200 years; older quahog and coral figures concern invertebrates and, in many corals, colonies.
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