FACT CHECK #P5MTE8T6

WHAT WE FOUND

Multiple high-credibility sources confirm that sharks are older than trees. The evolutionary lineage of sharks dates back approximately 450 million years to the Late Ordovician Period 2 3 5. In contrast, the earliest species classified as trees, such as the extinct Archaeopteris, did not appear until roughly 350 to 390 million years ago 6 7. While primitive land plants emerged around 470 million years ago, they predated trees, meaning sharks occupied the oceans for at least 60 to 100 million years before the first forests existed on land 4 7 8.

SOURCES

1. 1 · oceanservice.noaa.govACADEMIC
   How long do Greenland sharks live? - NOAA's National Ocean Service

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2. 2 · snopes.comFACT-CHECKER
   Have Sharks Existed Longer Than the North Star?

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3. 3 · popularmechanics.comACADEMIC
   Sharks Are Older Than Trees, Which Seems Wrong

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4. 4 · nhm.ac.ukACADEMIC
   Shark evolution: a 450 million year timeline | Natural History Museum

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5. 5 · iflscience.comACADEMIC
   Sharks Are 450 Million Years Old, Meaning They Were Here Before ...

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6. 6 · smithsonianmag.comWEB
   Respect: Sharks are Older than Trees - Smithsonian Magazine

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7. 7 · syfy.comWEB
   Sharks Are Older Than Trees, the North Star & Much More - SYFY

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8. 8 · discoverwildlife.comWEB
   This prehistoric apex predator is older than trees, the ...

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