AN OCEAN QUAHOG CLAM WAS RECENTLY dredged up just off the coast of Iceland that scientists believe was the oldest living animal ever found.

Researchers at Bangor University in Wales studied the creature and determined that it was between 405 and 410 years old.  They got the number by sectioning the shell and counting its rings, much like dating a tree.

The clam, nicknamed Ming after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born, was in its infancy when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing plays such as Othello and Hamlet.

The scientists believe that this mollusk could help shed light on how some animals can live to extraordinary ages.

BBC News has the STORY.
They also have a short VIDEO.

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