Rare Greenland shark specimen preserved at the Museum

The first complete Greenland shark specimen has been preserved for research in the Museum's spirit collection. The shark was beached at Embleton Bay, Northumberland in October 2013. Scientists know relatively little about Greenland sharks as they spend most of their time in the deep sea and are rarely seen in coastal waters.
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[@The_CIA]

*I love how happy the polar bear and the shark look...*

[@clarenceboddicker6679]

It looks like the polar bear and shark have overcome their depression and are now very happy.

[@vel5094]

Scientists: Now time for the real plan, resurrection.

[@ultimathule3834]

at rebirth island

[@wendyrobinson849]

Reanimate the marine wildlife

[@sofias260]

i'm always surprised at how roughly these people seem to handle preserved specimens. aren't they afraid of damaging them?!

[@user-gb3wb3pr8i]

Although preserved, their bodies are still quite sturdy so handling them “roughly” is fine. It’d be quite difficult to damage them unless they literally meant to damage them.

[@GuessMyName234]

They'll do it all the time

[@kjp851]

I think the shark skin is rough and tough enough

[@nein7594]

I think they know what they are doing!

[@sonnieandjacob]

Formalin hardens the specimens. They can take it

[@paullytle246]

That shark is probably older the us

[@user-ef9hu1bn2y]

There 512 years old greenland shark still alive

[@GiordanDiodato]

yeah, Greenland Sharks can live a while

[@cybertruck51]

________________ no its not it died a month later from something, and we found out it was actually closer to 498.

[@jonathan-zo9nh]

Damn, some of these sharks were alive before spanish colonized my country

[@GrimBirthday]

the us

[@gobshmack]

Ahhh the forbidden soup.

[@crocetti3273]

Sounds like a dark souls 3 message.

[@tardwrangler]

Wonder what it smells like in there

[@minmarn3409]

It will smell like ammonia and formaldehyde, which will burn your nose off and it smells like vinegar but 100000 times stronger and worse

[@ndhkroatien999]

you dont wanna know

[@Discontinuedalready7372]

_It has high urea. So it probably smells like pee_

[@presidentfist2787]

If it's full of alcohol then like a distillery I'd imagine

[@karentse4553]

Something fishy

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

For our #SharkWeek #ThrowbackThursday a look back to when a rare Greenland shark specimen was added to the Museum's collection: bit.ly/NHM_Greenland-Shark Go behind the scenes to see many more specimens like this first hand on one of our spirit collection tours (BSL-signed tours also available): bit.ly/NHM_Behind-the-Scenes-SCT-Jul15

[@grapaliciousneedshelp]

First reply somehow-

[@chandrasekar7578]

Hey natural history museum, wouldn't it be nice if you displayed the Greenland shark intact in glycerol rather than preserving it in alcohol?

[@user-ho7mg9ol7w]

They don't have room to display everything! Something like this would be very very expensive and problematic to display, especially something so big and so very heavy

[@chandrasekar7578]

Yeah you are absolutely right.. but being one of the richest nation in the world - England can make it. Already they have the best in class museums , laboratories etc.. I guess there is lack of space in and around the museum building..That's the reason they cannot showcase it.. else, they would have showcased everything tiny to huge in this earth in a awww style!

[@lefterismagkoutas4430]

They can't display everything. Sometimes they have to keep speciemns in alcohol tanks.

[@conniep.8124]

chandra sekar it’s for research purposes. The Greenland shark is a creature that can live for hundreds of years. They most likely want to study it to sea what it’s been doing throughout its life. By doing so, they have to remove cells from the shark. Something they can’t do if it’s on display. It being a wet specimen make it easier to perform scans to see what the shark last ate without cutting it open. The shark is rare, doesn’t matter how much money you have.

[@GeorgiaGeorgette]

@@chandrasekar7578 We need money for the people living in poverty but the government don't care about that; it will go to corrupt politicians instead.

[@Ground_Zero_13]

0:55 Mike Ehrmantraut in the back.

[@lucky11sep]

Haha now I wanna watch bb again

[@BLAISEDAHL96]

Wow, great catch lolol

[@tetusooooo]

this is like a terrifying horror movie for a rare aquatic audience

[@bennyd345]

This specimen was featured on an episode of 'River Monsters' with Jeremy Wade in the last few years, he went to examine it.

[@Mortthemoose]

Really!!! Awww....I didn't see that! I watch all Jeremy Wade's series, but they are barely ever on, on uk TV! I watched the fascinating episode when he actually caught a Greenland shark.

[@hijadokisaudagar]

that bear in the very beginning: 👁️👄👁️

[@kevinrollins7710]

Is there a place where I can see what elese they have preserved in those tanks?

[@europeanstagbeetle1261]

no, but as someone who has been in Sweden's natural history museums collections i can tell you it is an amazing sight, they had shelves upon shelves lined with thousand of alcohol preservated crustaceans and giant catfish, tuna, sharks, and even a small baby elephant (first scientifically collected of its kind) i was there to donate some wet preserved plants from my personal collection.

[@scriblemaker]

there actually is an alcohol tour at london's natural history museum where you can see some of the preserved specimens including the giant squid.

[@yeahboiii3280]

Kevin Rollins oo

[@Supernaut413]

In sweden we have a siamese twin baby in alcohol. Gothenburg(Göteborg)

[@SCARSOFEUROPE]

There is, in Berlin.

[@markdavila5297]

I wonder if they have famous people or just really important people in that fluid preserved for 100 yrs

[@user-ot4rc9jh8e]

thats enough youtube for me

[@hoppinggnomethe4154]

lmao

[@thiefs_end]

What an amazing specimen xx

[@IndriidaeNT]

Cool, it must have took a lot of work to preserve sea creatures like the Greenland shark, giant squid and blue marlin.

[@peacelovecigarettes]

No one: Not a single person: The polar bear in that opening shot: 👁👄👁

[@engineerofalltrades]

Swordfish from 1960!??? Whoaaa

[@MyDearMelancholyyy]

imagine zombie fishes

[@zpskk]

Wow, this is so cool. Thank you for sharing.

[@jessicaharper1488]

What's up Liquid formaldehyde? Or alcohol? Just curious as to why they're handling it and letting it touch their skin

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

Our spirit collections are stored in alcohol. Wearing gloves to handle the specimens is strongly recommended, but ultimately down to the Curator's choice.

[@brettelliott4116]

Museums are essentially for preserving everything that humans exterminate.

[@rickmulder1853]

Forwen Eymnorty incredibly sad but true

[@zhongxina9420]

HUMANS exterminated the dinosaurs?

[@Rene-uj5vw]

Forwen you are probably proud of yourself

[@funnyswangoosething5088]

Ah damn I guess humans even exterminated ourselves... oh wait

[@Neceh01]

@@funnyswangoosething5088 they did. just need a few more years, and the Ozone layer is completely gone, which means the sun will burn straight through and give everyone skin cancer. Luckily for the rich, they'll be able to live in space. yay

[@gotbigdreams.5257]

It would be weird to work with oldest dead animal.

[@upperindigo2122]

Bartender, one shark shot please

[@ReeseJamPiece.]

My country had gone through more than 10 wars in the time that shark had been alive. Christ

[@HeadshotHallers]

"What do you do for a living?" "Oh me? I'm a Fish Curator"

[@drdwkelley]

That weld at the end, though.

[@juicedk00laid44]

what weld?

[@nemanume]

What is the purpose of those fish being preserved if nobody can see them ?

[@SeraliaAerials]

So they can be studied or at least preserved until the museum decides to display them. It takes a while to find room and reason to display things in museums that are already full of objects. Although the British museums could stand to give some of their current displays back to the places that they got them from.

[@malinko35]

Guy with the glasses didn't help lifting the shark at all. Look at how everyone else had to make up for his slack.

[@mrspotatohead8263]

True but he might have had a back injury or something.

[@thestig2632]

Why they not on display

[@Azletrack]

Why not in individual tanks? Seems like they would have the budget for that

[@contingency9]

fascinating!

[@bisonnyla]

can you preserve it in resin or something that makes it easily accessible for public viewing? Or perhaps 3D scan the shark so people all around the globe can view it on their computer?

[@svenskayami]

resin wouldnt really preserve it. it would rot. scanning could work but they would have to find a way to suspend while scanning otherwise it would be deformed

[@benfarmer5960]

its not for the public. its for sience.

[@Zekaz]

Suprised green lands can live up to 500 years can imagine one saying "back in my day when world war I began..."

[@alexisguerrero3105]

The polar bear is how I think my crush sees me

[@2braincells143]

I didn't know that rare species can have their own grave.

[@pokemonplayer9393]

Rosie

[@chloecampbellx7740]

pokemonplayer !! It’s Rosie I think

[@odalis6138]

And Rosie wasn’t that type of shark she was also bigger than that

[@Minkses]

@@chloecampbellx7740 lol, u ok?

[@chloecampbellx7740]

Saya yasss

[@chloecampbellx7740]

ASMR potato oh ok

[@thebackyardbear]

For WHAT purpose? A dead fish in a box? What possible benefit or service does this provide?

[@benfarmer5960]

they study them. they cant just jump into the ocean to find one.

[@ezramatan5233]

They usually can study and it's anatomy. There's technology available now days to do cross scans to analyze the sharks life.

[@erebronmacaylas2691]

Does it smell??

[@xartimus18]

All you need is some salt, pepper, and lime and it’s all good!

[@haraldschurr1035]

what a relief - its bad condition will be well preserved for hundreds of years

[@markdunsford4291]

Greenland sharks grow to 6m long. That seems rather small?

[@ashtoncash5506]

It's only one more shark left. Let's make a trophy 😂

[@rchrdjms62]

Does anybody know what the oldest preserved animal specimen is and its age? And I mean one that is still juicy and not desiccated. Sorry about the non scientific word "juicy" but I couldn't think of another.

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

Hey, I don't know if they count as 'juicy', but lots of cool finds have been found in permafrost. Some of these date back 50,000 years. Thanks!

[@its_thyy]

I wonder if thats that same shark i saw in another vid.

[@Liladelph]

Someone tag Mr.Beast and tell him that a turtle is NOT the oldest living creature on earth; the greenland shark is - by far! That is what happens kids, stay in school so you're not stupid!

[@vapingfury4460]

the shark is dead

[@Liladelph]

@@vapingfury4460 yeah this one, but others aren't. This one is most likely older than any living tortoise by a long shot and its not even that big.

[@benfarmer5960]

sponges live up to 10000 years tho

[@Liladelph]

​@@benfarmer5960 "Ha! Got em'!"

[@helloMRdj1]

Imagine after 10 years doing shots with that liquid.

[@ezramatan5233]

@Daniel Leca comedic genius.

[@silverturtlestudios460]

alcohol is very good at preserving specimens I used it to preserve a Lime (Just as a test) and It was so well preserved.

[@malnutritionboy]

i use 70 percent isopropyl alcohol to preserve fish

[@reginaldomartins4155]

Eu com uma espécie desta eu mesmo iria embalsamar este peixe .

[@sandz4738]

Icelanders kind of delicacy...

[@jonripley5283]

Why wasn't a cat scan done before storage?

[@Juggling_necromancer]

how do you know it wasn't?

[@nicklasgram9490]

Rivermonsters gang where you at?!

[@coppliable]

Sell me some dead fish punch? Just imagine the flavor guys... 🐬🦴☣🧜‍♀️🍸

[@paulallen9150]

Is this real or fake?

[@Raiche58]

Wow, if it can do that for a Greenland shark, just imagine what it could do for my liver!! What type of alcohol is that again?

[@tantiwahopak101]

That polar bear is humongous

[@darkknight5557]

i don't really like how they handle this creature.. it should be considered something sensible and importnat

[@barrygomberg2524]

No dignity is shown to such an old majestic creature.....

[@alanjose1112]

Why did they show it to the public?

[@israelfuentes7513]

Hi

[@apoolofwomen]

do they sell those tanks for humans?

[@Mechanarian]

Yes

[@jaye.espiritu]

strong science bois

[@AP-ep3xh]

you get stranded in UK they preserve you right away

[@pannady]

It is older than USA

[@vickykalgutkar3462]

wonder how that alcohol tastes...

[@franciscocontreras3934]

shark looks pretty old

[@kratosshit4100]

That shark almost broke in half and the tail almost snapped smh I wouldn't want anything to be handled by these guys

[@SpeedomusicSM]

Imagine a bunch of fish casually putting dead human bodies in fluids for fun acting normal as ever ,we would all be disgusted

[@lordvader3538]

Nobody gonna mention the smell?

[@rubenhayk5514]

one day it might be the only example of fish left

[@c17bykenshi67]

0:55 *crack*

[@connorcolquhou5845]

They taste good if you dry the meat for a year outside till it becomes more dry. Nice and flakey, smells like a freshly polished boot though.

[@rottinguranium7789]

that shark looks 210974219037589023847012940 billion years old

[@benfarmer5960]

it is most likley older than the usa. there are some that are over 500 years old and still swimming

[@yovic415]

why the hell are they using gloves if theyre sticking their whole arm in the solution- or ripped gloves...lol

[@mirandaa1464]

I think it's less about touching the solution and more about touching the shark? Their arms are covered by their sleeves when they lift it so this covers their hands too

[@hghtrfnko8634]

Why though?..

[@alibee1978]

put me in the alcohol tank !!

[@singan5746]

whats so rare about this shark when they literally eat them in Ice Land ?

[@DrPepperJNL]

How to pickle a shark

[@JustinNgHC]

The polar bear looks high

[@chloeh6741]

i wanna drink the shark jungle juice :p

[@David_7171]

They’re small sharks

[@guidolongshanks5383]

0:59 the way it was gently swaying its fin, i think it`s still alive.

[@DannyYounghill]

When im 300, will I be disapointed?

[@arturozons151]

Maybe

[@Thylacinuscyno]

*takes my spoon and does a slurp of the preservation alchohol* mmmm 1960s boney and cartilage fish

[@aaronmatthew9053]

ts that shark real?

[@minimodeler3131]

Well it's not a Greenland shark if it's in England

[@RR237]

I like it but it is Dead

[@nautilus5271]

Goblin shark?

[@LostAdvanced]

No

[@Bhumireality]

THEY EXPECT TO KEEP AN LARGE OEAN SPECIE IN A SMALL BOX

[@inportrace]

?

[@jiita.m9992]

He looks so old

[@errolstewart2910]

That not large mate come to Australia and you see a large shark mate🦈🦈🦈🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@boltvicente]

grandpa shark do do do do do do

[@michelemond9968]

No one is wearing safety goggles?..

[@Ugo_Goglu]

Is it dead?

[@rogerlong7824]

She's dead yes

[@youdontknowme3935]

forbiden alchol drink

[@from2scoot741]

Do you kill th fish sharks and what ever you do

[@LostAdvanced]

Probably found it wash up shore

[@abirmef9510]

Its scary

[@bynme1150]

im dont want how smell that

[@putatdaun]

Stinkiest and poisonous shark ever! The flesh full of ammonia!

[@humuhumunukunukuapuaa7372]

Fish pickles