A species of shark “exceptionally rare in Irish waters” washed up on the Sligo shoreline over the weekend.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) ‘Live Stranding’ hotline received a report on Saturday evening of a two-metre dead basking shark on the Sligo coastline.
However, upon inspection of photographs provided it was revealed that it was not a basking shark, but rather a Greenland shark – the longest living vertebrate in the world with a centuries-long life span.
According to the IWDG, the oldest recorded Greenland shark specimen was “over half a millennium in age”.
The Greenland shark is also a large species, typically reaching lengths of four to six metres.
“Little is known about the elusive Greenland Shark in Ireland, native to deep and remote waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, however they are known to reach sexual maturity around 150 years of age and give birth to their pups live after a gestation period of 8 to 18 years.
“At 2.87 metres, this male individual in Sligo had very developed claspers, perhaps on the brink of maturity,” the IWDG said in a post on social media.
The IWDG notified the National Museum of Ireland after the discovery of the specimen, which in turn assembled a rapid response team to recover the animal before it could be lost or damaged by the incoming tides.
The operation was conducted successfully, with the shark now undergoing “detailed scientific postmortem examination”, which the National Museum says is “contributing valuable data to the understanding of this elusive deep-water species”.
“Tissue samples and selected anatomical components are being preserved as part of the National Museum’s scientific collections, ensuring a permanent record of this exceptional specimen,” it said in a statement.
“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 and the scientific work undertaken to study it,” the National Museum added.
According to the National Museum, this marks the first recorded stranding of this species, Somniosus microcephalus, on the Irish coast.