🐟Greenland shark
The Greenland shark, also known as the grey shark or gurry shark, is a large shark of the family Somniosidae, closely related to the Pacific and southern sleeper sharks. Inhabiting the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, they are notable for their exceptional longevity, although they are poorly studied because of the depth and remoteness of their natural habitat.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2020.
- Body mass
- 1,100 kg
- Body length
- 4.27 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 392 years
Everything we know about the Greenland shark
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass1,100 kgaverageOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Species-level value synthesised as the mean of: female.
By sex
- Female1,100 kgFishBasev25.04
Body length4.27 mmaximum recordedFishBaseOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
By sex
- Female5.5 mFishBasev25.04
Maximum lifespan392 yearsrecord 392 years · FishBaseAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic level4.22FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 4.22 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humanspoisonous to eatFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Volume l1,100 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Greenland shark yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classElasmobranchii
- ›orderSqualiformes
- ›familySomniosidae
- ›genusSomniosus
- ›speciesSomniosus microcephalus
- superclassGnathostomata
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- subclassElasmobranchii
- genusSomniosus
All 8 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- subclassElasmobranchii
- genusSomniosus
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