Clam Lived for 507 Years
Posted on November 16, 2013
A clam lived for 507 years. It was born in 1499. The clam died when it was retrieved from deep waters off the Ireland coast and examined by researchers in 2006. Species of this type of clam, an ocean quahog, are commercially fished and eaten regularly.
The clam, named Ming, was initially estimated to be between 405 and 410 years ago. It was dubbed the world's oldest non-colonial animal when its age was first reported in 2006. Scientists at Bangor University re-examined the clam and found it is 507 years old, about a century older than previously thought.
The scientists note the likelihood that an older clam exists. The write, "It is statistically inconceivable that longer lived individuals of the species do not exist in Icelandic waters as they seem to provide the ideal conditions for extreme longevity; clams with lifetimes in excess of 100 years have been found both in the Irish Sea and the North Sea."