Scientists have discovered an amazing find in the waters of Greenland - they found a living shark born in 1505, which makes it older than the genius of the English literature William Shakespeare,  Sun writes.

Specialists can infallibly determine the age of the Greenland Polar Shark, as it grows 1 centimetre each year. Representatives of the species are true record-long-lived animals in the animal world, BTA reports.

The newly discovered specimen is the oldest living vertebrate creature on the planet, commented one of the researchers, Professor Kim Prebel.

The average life expectancy of a Greenland polar shark is 272 years. These are the northernmost sharks of all others. The largest specimens can reach up to 7.3 meters. But usually the average length of these animals is 2.4.-4.8 meters, and their weight does not exceed 400 kilograms. Greenland shark meat is considered a national dish in Iceland. Scientists have begun exploring the DNA of the open space shark with the hope to discover the secrets to the longevity of this species, and probably not just it.