@article {43, title = {Maximum age and missing time in the vertebrae of sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus): validated lifespan from bomb radiocarbon dating in the western North Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans}, journal = {Marine and Freshwater Research}, volume = {65}, year = {2014}, note = {id: 2352}, pages = {674 - 687}, abstract = {Bomb radiocarbon analysis of vertebral growth bands was used to validate lifespan for sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) from the western North Atlantic (WNA) and southwestern Indian Oceans (SIO). Visual counts of vertebral growth bands were used to assign age and estimate year of formation (YOF) for sampled growth bands in eight sharks from the WNA and two sharks from the SIO. Carbon-14 results were plotted relative to YOF for comparison with regional Δ14C reference chronologies to assess the accuracy of age estimates. Results from the WNA validated vertebral age estimates up to 12 years, but indicated that ages of large adult sharks were underestimated by 11{\textendash}12 years. Age was also underestimated for adult sharks from the SIO by 14{\textendash}18 years. Validated lifespan for C. taurus individuals in the present study reached at least 40 years for females and 34 years for males. Findings indicated that the current age-reading methodology is not suitable for estimating the age of C. taurus beyond ~12 years. Future work should investigate whether vertebrae of C. taurus record age throughout ontogeny, or cease to be a reliable indicator at some point in time.}, doi = {10.1071/MF13214}, author = {Passerotti, M. S. and Andrews, A. H. and Carlson, J. K. and Wintner, S. P. and Goldman, K. J. and Natanson, L. J.} } @article {677, title = {Bomb dating and age determination of large pelagic sharks}, journal = {Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences}, volume = {59}, year = {2002}, note = {548ceTimes Cited:98Cited References Count:16}, month = {Mar}, pages = {450-455}, abstract = {Despite their notoriety and role as apex predators, the longevity of large pelagic sharks such as the porbeagle (Lamna nasus) and shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) is unknown. Vertebral growth bands provide an accurate indicator of age in young porbeagle, but age validation has never been reported for any large shark species past the age of sexual maturity. Here, we report the first application of bomb radiocarbon as an age validation method for long-lived sharks based on date-specific incorporation of radiocarbon into vertebral growth bands. Our results indicate that porbeagle vertebrae recorded and preserved a bomb radiocarbon pulse in growth bands formed during the 1960s. Through comparison of radiocarbon assays in young, known-age porbeagle collected in the 1960s with the corresponding growth bands in old porbeagle collected later, we confirm the validity of porbeagle vertebral growth band counts as accurate annual age indicators to an age of at least 26 years. The radiocarbon signatures of porbeagle vertebral growth bands appear to be temporally and metabolically stable and derived mainly from the radiocarbon content of their prey. Preliminary radiocarbon assays of shortfin mako vertebrae suggest that current methods for determining shortfin mako age are incorrect.}, issn = {0706-652x}, doi = {10.1139/F02-027}, author = {Campana, S. E. and Natanson, L. J. and Myklevoll, S.} }