Greenland sharks live up to 400 years 1:17
(CNN) --
The Greenland shark makes its home in the frigid arctic waters that surround Greenland and Iceland.
So researchers were surprised when they found one of these ocean giants apparently taking a tropical vacation on the coral reefs off the coast of Belize.
It is the first time a Greenland shark has been seen in the western Caribbean, off the world's second-longest barrier reef, according to a press release from Florida International University (FIU).
Devanshi Kasana, a doctoral student at FIU, was working with Belizean fishermen to tag tiger sharks when he noticed a shark tied to one of his lines didn't look like a tiger shark.
He sent a photo of the large, slow creature to his adviser, who confirmed it was either a Greenland shark or a hybrid between the Greenland shark and the Pacific sleeper shark, according to the FIU.
One of the project fishermen was surprised by the discovery.
"I'm always excited to put my deepwater line in because I know there's stuff down there that we haven't seen in Belize yet, but I never thought I'd catch a Greenland shark," said Omar Faux, one of the Belizean fishermen, in the FIU statement.
Greenland sharks are the world's longest-living vertebrates, capable of living at least 400 years, according to a 2016 study. But much remains to be learned about this mysterious fish.
This slow-moving, slow-growing species can reach up to 7 meters in length and weigh up to 1.5 tons, according to National Geographic.
Because these animals prefer incredibly cold and deep water, they are difficult for scientists to monitor.
The FIU suggested that there could be more Greenland sharks in tropical waters around the world, just far below the surface, where the water is as cold as they prefer.
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