It would not be impossible for fishermen to have caught an old clam like Ming. He points out that thousands of ocean quahogs are caught commercially every year. But, is Ming an unusual case? Bangor University researcher Paul Butler believes there are likely more clams as old or older than Ming. These clams typically live up to five times as long as humans do. Oxygen isotope tests on the shell also show ocean temperatures as they changed over Ming's life, reflecting climate fluctuations.īefore Ming, the title of world's oldest animal was held by another clam from Iceland, believed to be 374-years-old, reports Mirror. Since then, researchers have run carbon-14 dating tests to discover Ming's true age, 507. This made counting difficult and led to the first conclusion that Ming was 405. As the world's oldest animal, Ming's shell rings had compacted, inside and out. The rings form on both the inside and outside, but sometimes the outer rings are worn down and difficult to count.
Much like the rings that can be counted on tree stumps to determine its age, rings form on ocean quahogs' shells. Ming was opened to check its age by counting the rings that formed on its shell. As one of the researchers explains, "We had no idea it was that old before it was too late." When news of the discovery first circulated, many people contacted the researchers to express their anger that the world's oldest animal had been killed. Ming was a bivalve mollusk, or as they're also known, an ocean quahog. Researchers discovered the world's oldest animal in Iceland as part of a scientific expedition, according to Yahoo! News. Previously thought to be a mere 405-years-old, new evidence says Ming was actually 507 when he was found. Unfortunately, poor Ming was killed when scientists opened the clam before realizing the significance of their discovery. The elderly clam was found in 2006 and affectionately named Ming by researchers at Bangor University. However, they only discovered Ming’s true age a year after the clam died. This means that at the northern extreme of the distribution, feeding is concentrated during eight months of the year, while during the rest of the year the clams only feed for a few days a month.The world's oldest animal has been found by scientists, having lived for 507 years. Scientists from Bangor University killed Ming in the interest of science more than seven years ago. Feeding activity appears regulated by light levels, which can be used as a proxy for food availability. Like other clam species, Arctica islandica is a filter feeder. This species lives subtidally, and can only be collected by dredging.
They grow to sizes exceeding 50 mm or two inches shell height. For individuals in populations in cold areas the growth rate is probably further slowed because growth only occurs in summer. The researchers are uncertain how long the clam may have lived on had it been left to mind its own business on the ocean floor.ĭynamic Energy Models (DEM) predict that Arctica islandica's extreme longevity arises from a lowered somatic maintenance costs and a low aging acceleration. A British scientific team discovered the 405-year-old clam, named after the. Research into the clam’s age, which is established by counting the rings on its.
#MING THE CLAM CRACKED#
Researchers from Bangor University in North Wales – unaware of the animal’s impressive age – determined the age by drilling through and counting rings on its shell (a technique known as sclerochronology). It has been christened Ming and its officially the oldest animal to have ever lived. Ming the clam, 507, was enjoying a peaceful old age until bungling boffins cracked it open to sea how old it was. The clam was initially named Ming by Sunday Times journalists, in reference to the Ming dynasty, during which it was born. This makes the otherwise unassuming Arctica islandica clam the longest lived animal species on record, though some corals are probably much older.