Mondo Knows Facts
A clam dredged off Iceland was about 507 years old
The ocean quahog was nicknamed Ming after the Chinese dynasty it outlived
Ocean quahogs grow slowly in cold water and lay down annual growth bands in their shells, which can be counted like tree rings. One specimen collected in 2006 was estimated at 507 years old. The species is also notable for its extremely slow metabolism and steady heart rate.
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Tags: clams, age, iceland
A clam dredged off Iceland was about 507 years old: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- The ocean quahog was nicknamed Ming after the Chinese dynasty it outlived. The figure is taken from National Museum of Wales, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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- Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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