Which vertebrate has the longest lifespan?

Which vertebrate has the longest lifespan? The Greenland shark has the longest known lifespan of any vertebrate.

Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live in the cold, deep waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Their extremely slow growth—roughly 1 centimeter per year—helps explain how they can reach several centuries of age.

Scientists estimate age by measuring radiocarbon levels in proteins in the sharks’ eye lenses, which form before birth and remain stable. A 2016 study estimated that the oldest examined shark was about 392 years old, with uncertainty extending beyond 400 years.

The record is often confused with the bowhead whale, another exceptionally long-lived vertebrate whose lifespan can exceed 200 years. Unlike either species, the ocean quahog clam is an invertebrate and can live even longer, so it does not compete for the vertebrate record.