Global Animal Memorial

A long-term public-interest archive preserving animal stories, memorial records, source-based case files, and human-animal coexistence memories.

Animal Stories

Ming: the long-lived clam recorded by age research

2006 Waters off Iceland
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Ming, also called Hafrún, was an ocean quahog clam collected near Iceland in 2006 and later aged to about 507 years, becoming a striking longevity case.

Waters off Iceland

Public-source image of Ming’s shell valve, Wikimedia Commons image saved locally.
Public-source image of Ming’s shell valve, Wikimedia Commons image saved locally.

Story

Ming was collected near Iceland and later aged to about 507 years by counting shell growth lines.

The story includes both scientific discovery and the fact that the animal died during age determination.

Ming is archived because a quiet marine animal can still carry an extraordinary individual timescale.

Sources

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