Oldest animal in the world

 

405-year-old clam discovered on Iceland’s seabed.

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The mollusc, which has been dredged from 80m deep water by researchers from Banger University in Wales, was alive when plucked from the ocean but was then cut open for research. It was only then, after counting the growth rings that the scientists discovered its record-breaking age.
 
The team were researching how marine environments have changed in the last few centuries.

Long live the Arctica islandica

Speaking to The Guardian, postdoctoral scientist Al Wanamaker commented: "Its death is an unfortunate aspect of this work, but we hope to derive lots of information from it. For our work it's a bonus, but it wasn't good for this particular animal."

There is no scientific consensus as to why this particular kind of clam, an Arctica islandica, lives for so long, but in this instance, the lack of fisheries and predators is thought to have been a factor.
 
The researchers believe that they may even have some older clams in their collection.
 

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