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It was found by british marine biologists in the ocean, north of Iceland, while they were doing routine research. The clam, part of the ocean quahog species, was brought to the surface from 250 feet deep.
The surprise, after they cut through its shell, killing it in the process, was that the clam was over 400 years old, based on the growth rings that it had, making it the oldest living animal on Earth. Now that it’s dead, the oldest clam alive found is 374 years old.
Too bad this one didn’t make it.
Tags:ocean quahog,oldest living animal
Oh, SNAP!
It never fails…our smartest and brightest take it for granted that they know everything (sound like any Governments you know?) and do idjit crap like this…There is NO excuse for killing a Wooly Mammoth, a sabre-toothed tiger, a clam that was minding it’s own freaking business. Leave shit alone or at least study it “in situ”. Where’d you get your MB Degree? a Kracker-Jack box?? (EXPLETIVE OMITTED)…
Um, pretty sure trees can grow to be much older…
Yeah, but the title is oldest living animal. Trees are not animals
. Thanks for the comment J.
N.B.
On the subject of trees – the oldest tree, the Bristlecone Pine, was also killed by a scientist!
Um – J – Since when are trees animals, out of curiosity? I missed that class, we skipped it to go to the mall.
But aside from that, wasn’t there a report of a prehistoric shark being found near Japan that they killed? Hang on – let me find it… BRB
I’m blonde, haha!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16785254/
Did they eat it? Hope it was yummy.
Maybe a bit more info might put this in perspective for the Einsteins posting here expressing massive concern over the death of this invertebrate: The growth rings are on the INSIDE of the shell, not the outside. Not as if they knew the age before they opened it. Although if you’re saying they shouldn’t have opened it at all then I’ll leave you and get back to my clam chowder.
Yeah, look at those stupid scientists…fighting off religious theocracy and revolutionizing the way the world works. BOO SCIENCE!! YOU KILLED A CLAM THAT WAS DOING SO MUCH FOR US!! HOW COULD YOU!?
yes very good. i would like a clam sandwich
Isn’t eating something 400 years old the kind of thing that makes you magic? Is this why they didn’t mention if they ate it?
Haha. Woolly Mammoths? Sabre Tooth Tigers? Please elaborate!
These are indeed very old but they are only the oldest living animal FOUND, not OLDEST LIVING on EARTH. I’m 100% positive that there is lot more of those very old claims on the bottom of the ocean. Stop whining and go get some more.
If they did not want to kill them, just let them be
J Anthony Carter, take your head out of your ass, you raving luddite. I’m sure scientist kill animals. I’m also sure they eradicated polio. Quid pro quo. You have to take the bitter with the sweet.
By the way, this isn’t news. People kill animals. We kill animals non stop. By the dump truck full. By the warehouse full. It’s disgusting, and nobody gives it a second thought. But suddenly, scientists kill the oldest of something and it’s a sob fest.
Get over yourselves.
Stumbled down.
funny… cause isnt it the brits that say it take an oak tree 900 years to grow up, 900 years to grow old and 900 years to die? that make a great oak 1800 when it dies… lost older then that clam.
Had they not taken it to the surface and killed it, they would have not known that it was the oldest animal found so far. I know it sounds cruel but killing insignificant shellfish for research is justified (in my opinion anyway) – they are comparatively simple organisms. There have probably been lots of clams that were older but left alone (and thus the age was not discovered).
Behind door no.1: lots of creatures not killed by scientists but after their inevitable death become just another bit of dead material on the bottom of the sea – growth rings are no object
Door no.2: we kill some organisms but in the process of that we discover more about them and expand our knowledge. They no-longer die pointlessly.
Obviously the ideal would be to be able to learn about creatures without harming them, and we should do that in every possible circumstance.
oh, CLAM it. Seafood has no right to have that sort of lifespan.
“funny… cause isnt it the brits that say it take an oak tree 900 years to grow up, 900 years to grow old and 900 years to die? that make a great oak 1800 when it dies… lost older then that clam.”
Funny, by my math, that makes the great oak 2700 (those last 900 years are the dying process).
The HIV virus is a living thing. By your rules the HIV virus has a right to live?
Human beings are animals, and just like most other animals they eat other animals. Some humans can only get their food source from animals. Should they die because you think its wrong to kill animals?
It’s only through researching animals (a lot of which requires you to kill them) that humans have the extended life span they do.
Researching clams like this, although it seems pointless, does unlock the key to living twice as long. They made a worm-like species able to live twice as long as its 7-day life-span by locating and copying the gene in a sea urchin (I think thats the animal) that lets it live for a long time. Think of what that could do for humans (if they wanted it).
Viruses aren’t classified as living things…
I am sure that the elderly mollusk sacrificed it’s life willingly for science…Did it put up a fight? Could it? The other younger
shellfish should have rioted and boldly attack the unknowing researchers…
virii aren’t considered living things? wtf? that’s the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard.
Apparently killing stuff will help the human race progress. We’re the only species which enters an environment and totally destroys it for our own benefit, without leaving anything behind of worth. Other species take what they need and leave everything else. This is just another example of how arrogant humankind is. Fine, we need to study stuff to advance medicine, but seriously, we need to sort out the mess we’re making of this planet. We’re going to be our own destruction.
Wikipedia says: “A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell.”
Viruses arent living things like bacteria and fungi. They dont have all the life processes nessacery to be clasified as living. I think of them as little protein-coated DNA changing machines.
And yet STILL people imagine that aliens which abduct human beings and conduct THEIR scientific experiements on them for are immoral and evil.
Don’t think of it as an invasion of your anus, think of it as you contribution to the sum total of universal knowledge.
I’d write more, but my order of steamers is ready.
… aliens? Really?
That’s which way your argument is going?
Wow.
Its funny. everytime a story comes around with the ability to create a good arguement. every single internet using inbread suddenly thinks themselves an expert. i’ll admit i know nothing of marine biology. But i do know science = good stupid interweb posters = bad . get a life
Probably not the oldest animal on Earth, just the oldest one that has been found.
like many of the unknown fungies (which are “living” i think) that live in forests and have gone about there century long lives till we chopped down the trees and destroyed some of their habitat. or the whole ecosystems that live in the canopies of rain forests in south america and central africa. but what did it matter to the cattle farmers and the plantion owners that “own” the land and therefore decided to try to make some money off the land, and it was not sending sample organisms to research centers. and for those that rant on about how cruel it is, practice what you preach and try to look into the lives of the meat you eat. or where all the food you eat comes form. killing some thing my be bad but there needs to be more response to what we our personal selves and as a culture are doing to every thing around us. In America no wonder the world disagrees with so many policies. it is kinda funny how they titled the article though. well hope yall have a happy life and keep on procreating, it help
yah, clams, big deal. Jesus lives in the hearts of all people out there, so that makes him like, 2000 times 6 billion. 12 thousand billion. way older than any stupid clams. but wait, scientists are trying to kill him too!
Boo science! Yay belligerent fundamentalism!
Wow, this really brought out the rocket scientists to post. It the last moronic post that prompted me to have to say…I weep for humanity — dedicated to ignorance, mired in our own superiority and dogmatic to the end.
I love how the internet draws out you people. Is this really a science vs. religion issue? IT’S A FREAKING CLAM. WHO CARES. Be sure to thank science for the computer you’re typing this on, the vaccinations that kept you alive this far and the drugs you’re all on.
Studying clams is not just for people, the scientists study all the elements in an area to try and understand, and eventually, improve the area. If they don’t study what’s happening they can’t stop any detrimental effects that humans are having on the environment. The life of one clam (among no ones knows how many, possibly even older clams) may give clues on saving the entire genus.
You are all dorks! It’s a clam, just a clam. You would discriminate against an animal because it has a short life span? so what if it lives but one day, one month, one year.
All living things die, honor all life or none at all. We are part of the process, do not elevate yourself above nature. You also will become extinct one day.
Omega
Looks photoshopped to me.
Hey guys, this is the ghost of the 400 year old Clam. I just wanted you to stop arguing about me. I was tired of sitting and waiting for things to go by so I could eat them. It was sweet to see the Titanic sink and that kid from High School Musical be on the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine. I can’t subscribe when I am 250 feet below the ocean surface. I had to steal an issue from a flock of lobsters going to a party. Thanks, and remember…ghost of lord of all clams loves you!
If a microscopic animal like an amoeba divides, does that mean that it goes back to age zero? If not, doesn’t that mean that the amoebas out there are millions of years old?
And as for trees, did you know that most Redwoods do not grow from seeds. Redwoods have these shoots that grow from the burls at the base of the tree. When an old redwood falls, the shoots get the benefit of the sunlight that comes through the gap where the old tree used to be and so they grow into new trees, usually in a ring around the rotted out stump of the original tree. However, these new trees aren’t really new plants; they’re just a part of the old tree that has grown up to replace the part that died off. It’s really no different than when a branch breaks off and a new one fills in the tree’s canopy. So, you see, the Redwoods out there are also millions of years old.
a number of posters seem to have problems understanding what constitutes an animal – trees are not animals. fungi are not animals. also, i agree that we should stop killing mammoths and sabre tooth tigers. dumbass.
Chris/Robin – of all the comments above, yours are the only ones that add anything to the debate or the sum total of human knowledge, the rest of you need to go back to collage and learn stuff. For instance; how to conduct intellectual argument/debate, basic general knowledge, spelling (would help some of you), a smattering of natural history wouldn’t go amiss and you all need to study philosophy.
The original post has merit and there is valid reasoning in the context, although the use of ‘British’ twice suggests an axe to grind somewhere, scientists all over the world do things like this every day, and most ‘groups’ of scientists or researchers theses days seem to include at least one German/Frenchman, one blonde Scandinavian, 2 or 3 Americans and a Canadian or Australian with a beard (called Dave, always called Dave).
The clam died, we now know clams can live at least 30 years (a human generation) longer than our friend in the fish-tank still going strong at 374, it’s called adding to the big picture.
I think you guys got it wrong. I ate my wife last night, and damn if that clam didn’t taste 800 years old.
that’s sad….
why would they kill a the oldest freaking oyster
makes me sad lol
The oldest Lobster, and the oldest Clam, and get some fresh lemon… ah it’s dinner time!
Edibles!
Just so you know the prehistoric shark wasn’t the oldest. It was the species of the shark that was prehistoric not the shark itself.
Read the news more carefully next time.
hey peerpressure. well done for patronising other readers and chastising them for poor spelling and then spelling “college” wrong yourself.
idiot.
Are you all insane. Homosapiens have been raping this planet in the name of human improvement for thousands of years. In the overall scheme of things reducing co2 emissions, stopping the destruction of the rain forests and slowing down the rapid rate of human expansion surely should be our priority. And you bunch of muppets spent all this time arguing over a poxy bivalve mollusc.
As long as they didn’t kill it on its birthday I don’t see what the problem is. Mmmmm, 400 year old clam chowder…..
Reaper Man – Mission Impossible.The only way to do all of these things is to nuke everyone to hell. With the exception, ofcourse, of all the renown experts who have so far graced this discussion with their brilliant, revolutionary theories on ethics, biology and whatnot
Get a life people! (looks at himself, than at the monitor, than at himself again, scratches his head and a silent “uh oh” escapes his mouth as he scurries away from the pc in terror…)
We should avoid fucking with the natural order of things.
lordsonny, I hope you feel the next way you get ill and the doctor tells you you’ll need antibiotics or you’ll die. You’ll need to refuse treatment, because that’s the natural order of things.
Sonny, Reaper, et al: I’m a 100 year-old avatar that wants you to eat* me. That’s declarative, not inquisitive.
*n.b., old clam is un-chewable, just like my ex-fiancee, but it might help a good broth, which she didn’t.
Why are scientists always killing things?
If they eated it it better have been good
tsk tsk tsk…too bad…they should have considered if they could bring it to the surface first before they could study it…it may be affected with the change in pressure or temperature since it was brought above for it may be that it was adapted to the deep water environment. well, there might be other clams like this to be that old but however, if there are, still the life of a single animal is important. it’s sad to hear this.
‘J Anthony Carter, take your head out of your ass, you raving luddite. I’m sure scientist kill animals. I’m also sure they eradicated polio. Quid pro quo.’
they havnt eradicated polio. im having a jab for it next week.
Almost everybody posting here is an intellectual mollusc… maybe we could cut them open & count their rings ‘in the name of science’? In particular – Pax Perpeuta (sic), I would personally volunteer to perform the grisly task in his/her case… what a thoroughly irritating, self obsessed, backward piece of human trash that is! …and… breathe…
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Well it sounds like they didn’t know how old it was when they opened it.
They’re really not to blame.
Proves a point….”That which you study…you change”
Polio was eradicated in the sense that because we were all vaccinated, and our parents were vaccinated, it no longer is a threat. However, people who do not allow vaccinations out of superstitious fears are in danger of bringing back almost all the terrible diseases that killed countless people.
While it is sad that the world’s oldest KNOWN clam was killed in the process of figuring out how old it was, there are probably literal tons of older, more ancient clams throughout the ocean.
If you really care about the environment, please, plant a tree, grow some flowers, recycle, pick up trash, and don’t waste electricity typing inane, badly spelt rants.
Thank you.
@laidback4sho
Virii is the incorrect pluralization of “virus”, used by people who want to make themselves look smarter. And the dumbest thing I ever heard was someone thinking a clam is a virus! A clam is defiantly a life form. Tapes philippinarum is the animal’s name and VENERIDAE (familia) TAPES (genus) are the genus and Familia. Do some research before you call an animal a virus!!!
And just in case I misunderstood Laidback4sho…viruses (correct pluralization) can be argued either way. As living/non-living organisms.
Opinions differ on whether viruses are a form of life, or organic structures that interact with living organisms. They have been described as “organisms at the edge of life”, since they resemble organisms in that they possess genes and evolve by natural selection,and reproduce by creating multiple copies of themselves through self-assembly. However, although they have genes, they do not have a cellular structure, which is often seen as the basic unit of life. Additionally, viruses do not have their own metabolism, and require a host cell to make new products. So actually, it could be argued either way. They also possess DNA & RNA basic building blocks for life.
@anon scientists also create and spread diseases like the recent h1n1 virus.
Response to J that you’re pretty sure tree’s are older, well trees aren’t animals dumbass
I kept waiting for Godwin’s Law to erupt in the light of this topic. Humans breaking “moral” laws for the sake of scientific advancement. i.e. Himmler science.
No such luck.
There’s probably 5000 more down there.
people… its a clam – they do not even have a brain…get over it.
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