Pacific Sleeper Sharks Grow So Slowly They May Live Over 100 Years

This giant predator ages slower than most house cats.

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Many deep-sea sharks mature late in life, sometimes not reproducing until several decades old.

Pacific sleeper sharks are extremely slow-growing deep-sea sharks, with growth rates suggesting lifespans that may exceed a century, a rare trait among large marine predators.

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Despite reaching lengths approaching 7 meters, individuals add only small increments of growth each year, meaning some sharks alive today may have hatched before World War II and still patrol the North Pacific.

Such longevity combined with low reproductive rates makes the species highly vulnerable to overfishing, because removing even a few mature giants can erase decades of biological investment from deep-ocean ecosystems.

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