TY - JOUR
T1 - Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus)
AU - Nielsen, Julius
AU - Hedeholm, Rasmus B.
AU - Heinemeier, Jan
AU - Bushnell, Peter G.
AU - Christiansen, Jørgen S.
AU - Olsen, Jesper
AU - Ramsey, Christopher Bronk
AU - Brill, Richard W.
AU - Simon, Malene
AU - Steffensen, Kirstine F.
AU - Steffensen, John Fleng
N1 - Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
PY - 2016/8/12
Y1 - 2016/8/12
N2 - The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), an iconic species of the Arctic Seas, grows slowly and reaches >500 centimeters (cm) in total length, suggesting a life span well beyond those of other vertebrates. Radiocarbon dating of eye lens nuclei from 28 female Greenland sharks (81 to 502 cm in total length) revealed a life span of at least 272 years. Only the smallest sharks (220 cm or less) showed signs of the radiocarbon bomb pulse, a time marker of the early 1960s. The age ranges of prebomb sharks (reported as midpoint and extent of the 95.4% probability range) revealed the age at sexual maturity to be at least 156 ± 22 years, and the largest animal (502 cm) to be 392 ± 120 years old. Our results show that the Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate known, and they raise concerns about species conservation.
AB - The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), an iconic species of the Arctic Seas, grows slowly and reaches >500 centimeters (cm) in total length, suggesting a life span well beyond those of other vertebrates. Radiocarbon dating of eye lens nuclei from 28 female Greenland sharks (81 to 502 cm in total length) revealed a life span of at least 272 years. Only the smallest sharks (220 cm or less) showed signs of the radiocarbon bomb pulse, a time marker of the early 1960s. The age ranges of prebomb sharks (reported as midpoint and extent of the 95.4% probability range) revealed the age at sexual maturity to be at least 156 ± 22 years, and the largest animal (502 cm) to be 392 ± 120 years old. Our results show that the Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate known, and they raise concerns about species conservation.
KW - Journal Article
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
KW - Greenland shark somniosus longevity ageing
U2 - 10.1126/science.aaf1703
DO - 10.1126/science.aaf1703
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27516602
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 353
SP - 702
EP - 704
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6300
ER -