Ming (clam)
Ming (* 1499 ; † 2006 ) was a mussel and at 507 years of age the longest-lived non- colony animal known to science. Ming is named after the dynasty of the same name that ruled the Chinese Empire at the time the mussel was born.
Ming was an Icelandic clam (Arctica islandica) and was collected from the seabed off the coast of Iceland in 2006 by scientists from Bangor University in Welsh and Iowa State University , Ames (USA) . The clam was frozen and died in the process. In 2007, the scientists published the clam's age at 405 to 410 years. The original and incorrect age information was based on an incorrect counting of the annual rings on the ribbons, as these are very dense due to the extremely old age. A new census of the mussel's outer shell, published at the beginning of 2013, revealed the new Methuselah age of probably 507 years.
The Sunday Times claim that scientists named the clam "Ming" is denied by James Scourse of Bangor University.
The clam is in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest mollusk .
Web links
- Markus Becker: Ming's record shell was 507 years old . In: Spiegel Online . November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved on November 14, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ^ Lise Brix: New record: World's oldest animal is 507 years old ( English ) In: Sciencenordic . November 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: How the mussel "Ming" was killed at the age of 507, November 15, 2013
- ^ Wales Environment Research Hub (WERH): Communicating Environmental Science Workshop. June 2013 ( PDF; 1.9 MB), accessed on November 15, 2013
- ↑ Guinness World Records: Oldest mollusc ( English ) In: Guinness World Records . Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2013.