![]() The researchers were unsure how it got there but most shark experts believed that the polar bear was likely already dead when the shark ate it, as live polar bears are too dangerous for the sharks to take on. Scientists have even found a Greenland shark with the jaw of a young polar bear (opens in new tab) ( Ursus maritimus) in its stomach, Reuters (opens in new tab) reported in 2008. Genus and species: Somniosus microcephalus However, little is known about how Greenland shark pups spend their early lives or how many survive to adulthood. Greenland shark pups are just 14 to 18 inches (35 to 45 centimeters) long when they're born. In a 2020 study published in the journal PLOS One (opens in new tab), researchers estimated that Greenland sharks can give birth to between 200 and 324 pups per pregnancy, depending on the size of the shark. Female Greenland sharks give birth to live young, called pups, that hatch from soft eggs that females carry inside their bodies. Scientists still have much to learn about how Greenland sharks live and reproduce. The sharks have a large range and can be found swimming from the surface down to depths of 8,684 feet (2,647 m), the IUCN says. Greenland sharks live in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans from North America to Greenland and from Portugal to the East Siberian Sea, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (opens in new tab) (IUCN). Related: No, scientists haven't found a 512-year-old Greenland shark (opens in new tab) Where do Greenland sharks live? Scientists don't yet know how Greenland sharks live so long, but it may be linked to their slow way of life. They also grow slowly at less than 0.4 inch (1 centimeter) per year and have slow metabolisms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (opens in new tab) (NOAA). Greenland sharks live in the slow lane, with a top swimming speed of less than 1.8 mph (2.9 km/h). "But even the lowest part of the age range - at least 272 years - still makes Greenland sharks the longest-living vertebrate known to science." "It's important to keep in mind there's some uncertainty with this estimate," Julius Nielsen, co-author of the 2016 paper, previously told Live Science (opens in new tab). The estimated range hasn't been verified. Researchers estimated that the oldest Greenland shark in that study was about 392 years old, but the estimate had a margin of error of 120 years, which led to speculation that Greenland sharks could live to 512 years old. A 2016 study published in the journal Science (opens in new tab) estimated that Greenland sharks have a maximum life span of at least 272 years, based on analysis of the sharks' eye tissue. ![]() Greenland sharks' exact life span is unknown. (Image credit: Science & Society Picture Library/Contributor via Getty Images) (opens in new tab) How long do Greenland sharks live? 19th century sleeper shark illustration with eye parasite, teeth and scales.
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