The Greenland shark, which has lived for centuries and lives in the cold Arctic waters, was found by fishermen in the tropical region of the Caribbean.

It was washed ashore off the coast of Belize in Central America when a team of scientists and biologists on a boat caught and tagged tiger sharks. The discovery surprised researchers as the animal was about 6,400 km from its place of origin, the Arctic. Information taken from R7.

The Greenland Shark is over 500 years old and found by fishermen – Photo: Reproduction Twitter @SLICKROCKBELIZE

unusual shark

“At first I was sure it was something else. I knew it was unusual, and so did the fishermen who had never seen anything like it in all their years of fishing,” Devanshi Kasana, a PhD student at Florida International University, said in a statement.

She was able to photograph the mysterious animal and send it to her consultant, who said it appeared to be a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which experts on the species soon confirmed.

This fish was first discovered in the waters of the Caribbean Sea. However, scientists have suggested that the beast may be a hybrid between a typical Greenland shark and a Pacific polar shark, but nothing has been confirmed.

Greenland sharks are mysterious and perfectly adapted to life in icy waters. They are considered the vertebrates with the longest lifespan in the world – it is suggested that they can live from 400 to 600 years. They are also huge, up to 7 m in length.