The World's Oldest Animal Is Even Older Than We Thought
Ming Bangor University Here you see Ming, a mollusk of the species Arctica islandica. In 2006, researchers discovered the bivalve in Iceland, and examined its interior growth rings--patterns on the inside of its shell--to determine its age. That put Ming at an impressive 405 years old, making it the oldest-known animal. (It was named after the Ming Dynasty, the period between 1368 and 1644.) But now researchers are reporting it's more than an entire century older than that: a healthy 507 years young. What changed? Well, originally, researchers counted the rings on its shell, which usually provides an accurate count, since the clams produce another ring each summer. This time, though, the rings were so compressed there was apparently a miscount. A new count of rings on the exterior, confirmed by carbon dating, gave the new age. The team also cross-checked the rings against rings from...