Shark found in wild could be 512 years old

A Greenland shark has been found in the wild that is thought to be up to 512 years old.

The huge creature was found by scientists in the Arctic, who measured its size and suggested it was born as early as 1505 - the year King Henry VIII called off his engagement with Catherine of Aragon, reports the Metro.

This would also make the shark older than William Shakespeare.

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Greenland sharks live in waters that can be -1C and swim as deep as 7,200ft. They can also weigh more than a tonne and they grow at a rate of one centimetre a year.

This shark was the oldest of 28 Greenland sharks analysed, and measured 18ft in length, meaning it could be anywhere between 272 to 512 years old.

Greenland sharks are known to be very long-lived, previously thought to live up to around 400 years old, leading solitary lives swimming around looking for a mate.

This shark's very grand old age was revealed in a study in the Science journal, according to The Sun.

The LAD Bible reports that, because many of the sharks pre-date the Industrial Revolution and large-scale commercial fishing, scientists suggest they can shed light on how human behaviour impacts the oceans.

Researchers at the Arctic University of Norway are also mapping the animals' DNA to look at its genes to learn more about what determines life expectancy in different species, including us humans.