The oldest living creature ever discovered on the planet was recently discovered living on the sea bed off the northern coast of Iceland.
Researchers at Bangor University in Wales scooped the Arctica islandica clam from the frigid Icelandic waters 80 metres beneath the surface. The scientists were hoping to gain information about changes in the marine environment from studying mollusc shells.
Unfortunately, the long life of the clam ended in the scientist’s hands. In order to determine its age, they cut through the shell and counted the annual growth rings on the clam under a microscope. It was at that point they discovered that the creature was between 405 and 410 years old.
“Its death is an unfortunate aspect of this work, but we hope to derive lots of information from it,” said Al Wanamaker, a postdoctoral scientist on the university’s Arctica team. “For our work it’s a bonus, but it wasn’t good for this particular animal.”
Nobody knows why, but this particular breed of clams seems to be especially long lived. The record for the oldest living creature was previously held, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, but another Artica islandica clam that lived for 220 years. Unofficially, another clam of the same species was reputed to have lived until the age of 374.
One of the researchers on the team that discovered the Icelandic clam said that the creatures might give scientists more insights into the process of aging. “If, in Arctica islandica, evolution has created a model of successful resistance to the damage of ageing, it is possible that an investigation of the tissues of these real life Methuselahs might help us to understand the process of ageing,” he said.
The researchers believe theclam may not be the oldest they fished from the sea. Many other clams that remain in their possession are yet to be dissected. “It’s quite possible others are out there in the water that are 600 years old,” said Dr Wanamaker.