Ever wondered which is the longest-living animal ever known to man?
Before you think some exotic monster from pre-historic times, or something living in dinghy caves below the sea forever, clam down; it's something quite ordinary - a clam that has been dredged up off the coast of Iceland!
Scientists said the mollusc, an ocean quahog clam, was aged between 405 and 410 years, and could offer an insight into the secrets of longevity. This means the mollusc has been alive since the times of Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare!
Sadly, the 3.4-inch clam died by the time scientists managed to verify its true age.
Researchers from Bangor University in North Wales said the age of the mollusk - nicknamed Ming after the ruling Chinese dynasty when it began its life - could be calculated by counting the rings on its shell.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-lived animal known till now was a clam aged 220 that was found in 1982 .Yet another clam - found in an Icelandic museum - was discovered to be 374-years-old, Bangor University said, making their clam at least 31 years older.
