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Rare 150-year-old Greenland shark washes up in Ireland

Daniel LoganBBC News NI
News imageNatural History Museum of Ireland/Emma Murphy A large grey fish lies on a bed of dark green/brown seaweed. It is deceased with a blue rope around its tail and a blue rope around its mid section. Its nose and eyes are close to the camera. The ocean starts to the far left of the frame. Natural History Museum of Ireland/Emma Murphy
It is the first known stranding of the species on the Irish coast

It is hoped that a rare shark, which washed up in County Sligo, will be preserved and displayed in an Irish museum.

The Greenland shark, which can have a lifespan of more than 500 years, the longest of any known vertebrate, was discovered on the shores of Finisklin on Saturday.

It is the first known stranding of the species on the Irish coast and is thought to be up to 150-years-old.

Native to waters around the Arctic and north Atlantic, the discovery has been described as "very rare" by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).

News imageEmilie De Loose, IWDG In the background is a mountain in County Sligo - Benbulbin - to the bottom right of the picture the body of a shark can be seen Emilie De Loose, IWDG
The male shark discovered in Sligo is said to "have had very developed claspers, perhaps on the brink of maturity"

The IWDG said they received a report from two men of a 2m (6ft 6in) dead basking shark, however, all was not as it seemed.

Photos later confirmed that it was not a basking shark and "indeed a very rare and interesting stranding", later identified as a Greenland shark.

The IWDG said the Greenland shark is the longest living vertebrate in the world with a life span of several centuries; the oldest recorded specimen was" over half a millennium in age".

A large species, the shark typically reach lengths of 4m to 6m.

The shark lives in one of the most extreme environments with temperatures frequently falling below zero, yet this shark thrives.

Its slow way of life means it expends little energy when scavenging for food.

Powerful suction means this shark can suck food into its mouth from over a metre away. It finds its food using its sense of smell, which is highly developed, and it's thought this compensates for the shark being blind.

Known to reach sexual maturity about 150-years-old, the shark gives birth to its pups after a gestational period of eight to 18 years.

The male shark discovered in Sligo is said to "have had very developed claspers, perhaps on the brink of maturity".

News imageGoogle A graphic of a map shows dark green representing land and dark blue representing water. There are three locations indicated in light blue on the map and one in red. The one in red reads Finisklin. The rest read, from north to south, Bundoran, Sligo and Ballina. The blue sea area is on the north-west on the map, where a small graphic of the UK is visible. Google

Now in the possession of the Natural History Museum of Ireland (NHMI), a spokesperson told BBC News NI that the shark was found in a "difficult to access" part of the coast with the operation requiring specialist equipment including a crane, used to lift it from the shore.

The NHMI will carry out a "detailed scientific post-mortem examination" to help researchers understand "this elusive deep-water species", according to a NHMI spokesperson.

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"Tissue samples and selected anatomical components are being preserved as part of the NHMI's scientific collections," they said.

WATCH: Learn more about the Greenland shark

"Subject to the condition of the skin and its suitability for preservation, the National Museum hopes to display the specimen in the future, which would allow visitors to learn more about one of the world's most mysterious shark species," they said.