Ming (clam)

Ming (* 1499, † 2006) was a shell and with 507 years, the longest non-living in a colony animal that is known to science. It is named after the namesake Ming dynasty that ruled at the time of birth of the shell in the Chinese Empire.

Ming was a seashell Iceland ( Arctica islandica ) and was conducted by scientists of the Welsh Bangor University and Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (USA), collected before Iceland's coast from the seabed in 2006. The shell was frozen and died there. In 2007, scientists published the age of the shell with 405-410 years. The original and incorrect age was based on an erroneous counting of annual rings on the bands, as these are very compacted due to the extremely advanced age. A new count on the outer shell of the mussel, published at the beginning of 2013, gave the new Methusalemalter of probably 507 years.

The assertion by the Sunday Times, the scientists would give the shell the name " Ming" is rejected by James Scourse of Bangor University.

The shell is in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest mollusk.