Possibly, yes. The landmark study estimated the largest shark at 392 years old, with a wide uncertainty range of ±120 years. The evidence supports extraordinary longevity, but “a 500-year-old shark” is the dramatic edge of an estimate—not an exact birthday.
The clue is in the eye
Most shark tissues keep growing and changing, which makes them poor biological clocks. The center of the eye lens is different. Proteins there form early in life and remain metabolically stable, preserving a chemical signature from around the animal’s birth.
Researchers radiocarbon-dated that material in 28 female Greenland sharks. The analysis showed that the largest individuals were centuries old.
392 is an estimate, not a count
The study’s largest shark was estimated at 392 years old. The reported uncertainty—plus or minus 120 years—is essential. A reasonable range extends from roughly 272 to 512 years. That range includes a birth before 1776, but it does not prove the shark was exactly 392 or 500.
The study’s firmer headline was that Greenland sharks live at least 272 years, making them the longest-lived vertebrates known from the evidence examined.
A life in slow motion
Greenland sharks inhabit cold North Atlantic and Arctic waters. Their metabolism, movement and growth are extraordinarily slow. The same study estimated females may not reach sexual maturity until around 156 years of age, again with substantial uncertainty.
That makes the species vulnerable in a way a sensational age headline can hide: an animal that matures over a century cannot quickly replace individuals lost from a population.
CHECK THE EVIDENCE