Animals Greenland Shark Lives at Least 272 Years The large sharks' longevity makes them the oldest living vertebrates on the planet.

There is a shakeup in the list of the world's longest-lived animals, as researchers have just determined that Greenland sharks live to be at least 272 years old, making them the vertebrates -- animals with a backbone or spinal column -- with the longest-known life expectancy. Like an Olympic race for longevity, the Greenland sharks now exceed other incredibly long-lived animals, such as bowhead whales and tortoises. The findings, reported in the journal Science, indicate that the large, carnivorous sharks could even live much longer than 272 years. Julius Nielsen, a doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, told Discovery News: "We report the oldest shark to be at least 272 years (old). In more technical terms, it is with 95% certainty between 272 and 512 years old." RELATED: Italian Village Holds Longevity Secret (Rosemary?) WATCH: Humans Can Be Dated Like Trees

He added that the shark most likely died at around 390 years old, but due to the noted age range, he and his team stuck with the lower and more conservative figure for the paper. It has long been suspected that Greenland sharks live ultra-long lives, but figuring out just how long has stumped marine biologists for decades. Usually the age of sharks and rays can be determined by counting seasonally deposited growth layers in hard calcified structures, such as fin spines. Greenland sharks, however, lack these hard structures. To get around the problem, Nielsen and his team analyzed the eye lens nucleus of 28 female sharks sampled as accidental by-catch during the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources' annual fish and shrimp surveys. The research project is nicknamed Old and Cold, referring to the sharks' chilly environment and advanced ages. RELATED: Earth's Largest Living Thing Is in Danger Co-author Christopher Bronk Ramsey, a professor of archaeological science at the University of Oxford, told Discovery News, "The eye lens in all large animals forms during the initial development of the animal, and so dating this gives the age of the animal. Other body parts typically grow, or at least the carbon overturns over time. This is not possible for the lens because it has no internal blood supply." The scientists measured the radiocarbon content of the Greenland shark eye lenses. Then, they estimated the age of the individuals by matching and calibrating the data using data representing radiocarbon changes in the northern North Atlantic marine food web the past 500 years. The study marks the first time that scientists have applied a radiocarbon approach on eye lenses to date the longevity of a fish, which sharks are. Ramsey indicated that even he is in awe of the fact that the Bayesian statistics behind some of his and his colleagues' work were formulated in the 18th century, when the oldest of the sharks in the study were alive. "This perhaps puts quite nicely into perspective how long the lives of these animals are, and conversely, how much humans have achieved within the lifetime of one of these sharks," he said. WATCH VIDEO: NOAA Expedition's 2013 Encounter with a Greenland Shark

The researchers estimate that the long-lived Greenland sharks do not reach sexual maturity until around 156 years of age. Ramsey suspects that, since females have to attain a certain size to keep the developing shark embryos within their bodies, they cannot begin to mate until they reach that size. Their growth rate is incredibly slow. As for why this rate is so slow, and why the sharks live such long lives, Ramsey said these characteristics are probably due to "low metabolic rate, cold temperatures and limits to food supply. The shark is a very slow moving, cold-blooded species." Ramsey said at least one commonality seems to apply to all of the long-living species: a very low metabolic rate. While work remains on applying such information to improving human longevity, there is some general advice to follow, with the caveat that at least one factor is out of our hands for now. Steven Austad, a leading expert on the biology of aging at the University of Alabama Department of Biology, wrote in a paper published in the Journal of Comparative Pathology, that "if you want to become a healthy 80-year-old you need to live a healthy lifestyle, if you want to become a healthy 100-year-old, you need to inherit the right genes."

10. Tuatura Tuataras, which are lizard-like burrowing reptiles, can live well beyond 100 years. "Henry," a tuatara at the Southland Museum in New Zealand, mated for the first time at the age of 111 in 2009 with an 80-year-old female. The pairing was successful, resulting in 11 baby tuaturas. Photo: Male tuatura from New Zealand. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

9. Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Many birds, such as the sulphur-crested cockatoo, reach very advanced ages. Anecdotally, one such cockatoo died at the age of 142. Andean condors and greater flamingos often live past 80. Anthony Hickey of the Univeristy of Aukland and his team have studied long-living birds. They believe that "perhaps exercise and limiting calories by 'eating like a bird'" could help humans to live longer lives. Photo: Sulphur-crested cockatoo in Queensland, Australia. Credit: Tatiana Gerus, Wikimedia Commons

8. Bowhead Whale According to Michael Keane of the University of Liverpool and colleagues, "The bowhead whale is estimated to live over 200 years and is possibly the longest-living mammal. These animals should possess protective molecular adaptations to age-related diseases, particularly cancer." Photo: Bowhead whale at the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. Credit: Kate Stafford, Wikimedia Commons

7. Koi Some koi can live to be 226, researchers suspect. Three other long-lived fish are the rougheye rockfish, orange roughy and sturgeon. Photo: Koi eying prey. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

6. Giant Tortoise An Aldabra giant tortoise died at the estimated age of 255 at the Zoological Garden of Alipore, India. It might have been the oldest known terrestrial animal. Many turtles and other tortoise species also live impressively long lives. Photo: Aldabra giant tortoise. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

5. Greenland Shark New research finds that Greenland sharks have the longest life expectancy of all vertebrates, which are animals with a backbone or spinal column. They can live to at least 272 years, and maybe even much longer. Photo: A Greenland shark returning to the deep and cold waters of the Uummannaq Fjord in northwestern Greenland. Credit: Julius Nielsen

4. Quahog Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) have been radiocarbon dated to 507 years. The species is nicknamed the "Bivalved Methuselah." Photo: Handful of quahogs. Credit: Ken Hammond/Gef Flimlin's hands, USDA, Wikimedia Commons

3. Black Coral Black coral (genus Leiopathes) are among the oldest living organisms on the planet. They look white underwater, but turn black when they are removed and brought on land. Photo: Black coral. Credit: NOAA, Wikimedia Commons

2. Deep Sea Sponge It is estimated that some deep sea sponges, such as Scolymastra joubini, can live to be 15,000 years old. Like Greenland sharks, they live in cold water and grow extremely slowly. The giant barrel sponge and Antarctic sponge are two other very long-lived sponges, which are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them. Photo: Deep sea "Picasso" sponges (Staurocalyptus sp.). Credit: NOAA/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Wikimedia Commons