Counting "band pairs," which are series of rings that alternate between translucent and opaque within the sharks' vertebrae scientists looked at band-pair data from 77 sharks that were captured between 1963 and 2010.

Using this method, the researchers found that great white sharks were considerably older than previously thought, with the oldest individual animal in the study reaching 73 years of age.

They also found that the great white sharks — at least in the Atlantic Ocean — matured more slowly than previously thought, thus making them even more vulnerable to threats.