According to a recent marine research, biologists were taken aback when
they discovered a bizarre cold-water shark thousands of kilometers away from
its native environment. In the tropical Caribbean Sea, a Greenland shark—the
longest-living animal on Earth—was found.
According to a report that was just released in the scientific journal
Marine Biology, the enigmatic shark was met by researchers as they were
temporarily tagging and capturing tiger sharks off the coast of
Belize.
When the researchers returned after monitoring and studying tiger sharks in
Belize's protected Glover's Reef Atoll, they discovered that their line had
traveled several miles out from the coral reef and into seas as deep as
2,000 feet.
They were shocked to discover the old Greenland shark when they recovered
their scientific capture. Hector Daniel Martinez, one of the researchers,
noted, "It looked very, very old," highlighting its home in the deep
oceans.
The scientists initially thought it may be a sixgill shark, a common
deep-sea predator, but after taking pictures of the seldom seen creature,
they were able to determine that it was "most likely" a Greenland
shark.
According to Devanshi Kasana, a biologist and Ph.D. candidate at Florida
International University's Predator Ecology and Conservation lab, "we
suddenly saw a very slow-moving, sluggish creature under the surface of the
water," Mashable reported. It appeared to be something that would have
existed in the Paleolithic era.
According to the National Ocean Service, greenland sharks have the longest
longevity of any animal on Earth, ranging from 250 to 500 years.
The sharks are seldom spotted or captured on camera, and very little is
known about their extraordinarily lengthy lives. They spend their days
thousands of feet beneath in complete darkness. They mature, grow, and
migrate gently down in the water. Their slow-moving, energy-saving way of
existence is a vital adaptation to the nutrient-poor deep water.
It was surprising but logical to see a Greenland shark close to a coral
reef off the coast of Belize. These enigmatic sharks may live in the
Caribbean or other deep-ocean locations, yet they are found in the Arctic's
deep waters.
The slope of the neighboring reef descends to depths of up to 9,500 feet,
providing Greenland sharks with a frigid and gloomy habitat.
The discovery begs the issue of whether this specific Greenland shark lived
a significant portion of its life in the deep tropical waters of the
Caribbean or moved there from Arctic seas.
It's still a mystery, but it's quite likely that more of these mysterious
animals lurk in the Caribbean's shadowy depths, out of sight of human sight.
"I doubt it's the only one," Mashable was informed by Demian Chapman, the
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium's head of Sharks and Rays Conservation
Research.
"It takes them over a century to find love."
The finding of this Arctic shark serves as a reminder that the ocean and
its ecology are still mainly uncharted territory. The deep waters are still
largely uncharted territory.
A 2020 research used genetic analysis to identify two geographically
distinct populations of Greenland sharks: one group inhabits seas in the
North Atlantic Ocean between Svalbard and Nova Scotia, close to Norway, and
the other group swims around Canada's Baffin Basin, above the Arctic
Circle.
Being mostly scavengers, greenland sharks consume everything, including
fish, seals, polar bears, and whales, both dead and living.
Though they barely grow up to 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) every year, some
can reach a length of 24 feet and a weight of 2,645 pounds (1,200
kilograms).
Greenland sharks don't become sexually mature until they are at least 134
years old, per a 2016 research.
According to Julius Nielsen, a coauthor of the research, "they have to wait
more than 100 years to get laid—I'm sure they're not happy about that," New
Scientist reported in 2016.
This article was originally published by
Business Insider.
