Reading 507 Years in a Clam's Shell
In short: How scientists count the annual growth bands in an ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) shell, how one wild clam from Iceland was dated to 507 years, and why that record is a maximum rather than a typical lifespan.
A 1:21 short film in the series “Nature: How Long Can It Live?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Phys.org (Science X network), article by Bob Yirka, dated 14 November 2013, “New research reveals Ming the Mollusk actually 100 years older than thought”; SAGE Publications (The Holocene), hosted on the Alfred Wegener Institute ePIC repository, “Epple06_Holocene16.pdf”; NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Northeast Fisheries Science Center; text by J.W. Ropes, “Ocean Quahog: Age Determination Methods for Northwest Atlantic Species”; NOAA Institutional Repository (NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center); abstract of Hemeon et al. 2021, Journal of Shellfish Research 40(2), National Shellfisheries Association, “NOAA Institutional Repository”; Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), University of Oxford; article published in Journal of Microscopy, “Identification of growth increments in the shell of the bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica using backscattered electron imaging. - ORA - Oxford University Research Archive”; NOAA Institutional Repository (paper by Hemeon et al., Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi; NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center; Virginia Institute of Marine Scienc…, “Attainability of accurate age frequencies for ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) using large datasets: protocol, reader precision, and error assessment”; Age (Dordrecht), journal of the American Aging Association, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine, NIH), “Age-related cellular changes in the long-lived bivalve A. islandica”; Elsevier (Experimental Gerontology, ScienceDirect), “Telomere-independent ageing in the longest-lived non-colonial animal, Arctica islandica”; NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce), “Ocean Quahog”; Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences (Oxford University Press), via PubMed Central / US National Library of Medicine, “Resistance to Genotoxic Stresses in Arctica islandica, the Longest Living Noncolonial Animal: Is Extreme Longevity Associated With a Multistress Resistance Phenotype?”; Bangor University (School of Ocean Sciences), news archive item dated 14 November 2013, “Clam found to be over 500 years old | News and Events”.
Sources used in this film
- Phys.org (Science X network), article by Bob Yirka, dated 14 November 2013 — New research reveals Ming the Mollusk actually 100 years older than thought · View →
- SAGE Publications (The Holocene), hosted on the Alfred Wegener Institute ePIC repository — Epple06_Holocene16.pdf · View →
- NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Northeast Fisheries Science Center; text by J.W. Ropes — Ocean Quahog: Age Determination Methods for Northwest Atlantic Species · View →
- NOAA Institutional Repository (NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center); abstract of Hemeon et al. 2021, Journal of Shellfish Research 40(2), National Shellfisheries Association — NOAA Institutional Repository · View →
- Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), University of Oxford; article published in Journal of Microscopy — Identification of growth increments in the shell of the bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica using backscattered electron imaging. - ORA - Oxford University Research Archive · View →
- NOAA Institutional Repository (paper by Hemeon et al., Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi; NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center; Virginia Institute of Marine Scienc… — Attainability of accurate age frequencies for ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) using large datasets: protocol, reader precision, and error assessment · View →
- Age (Dordrecht), journal of the American Aging Association, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine, NIH) — Age-related cellular changes in the long-lived bivalve A. islandica · View →
- Elsevier (Experimental Gerontology, ScienceDirect) — Telomere-independent ageing in the longest-lived non-colonial animal, Arctica islandica · View →
- NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce) — Ocean Quahog · View →
- Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences (Oxford University Press), via PubMed Central / US National Library of Medicine — Resistance to Genotoxic Stresses in Arctica islandica, the Longest Living Noncolonial Animal: Is Extreme Longevity Associated With a Multistress Resistance Phenotype? · View →
- Bangor University (School of Ocean Sciences), news archive item dated 14 November 2013 — Clam found to be over 500 years old | News and Events · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Phys.org (Science X network), article by Bob Yirka, dated 14 November 2013: New research reveals Ming the Mollusk actually 100 years older than thought
- Also: SAGE Publications (The Holocene), hosted on the Alfred Wegener Institute ePIC repository: Epple06_Holocene16.pdf
- Also: NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Northeast Fisheries Science Center; text by J.W. Ropes: Ocean Quahog: Age Determination Methods for Northwest Atlantic Species
- Also: NOAA Institutional Repository (NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center); abstract of Hemeon et al. 2021, Jour: NOAA Institutional Repository
- Also: Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), University of Oxford; article published in Journal of Microscopy: Identification of growth increments in the shell of the bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica using backscattered electron imaging. - ORA - Oxford University Research Archive
- Also: NOAA Institutional Repository (paper by Hemeon et al., Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississipp: Attainability of accurate age frequencies for ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) using large datasets: protocol, reader precision, and error assessment
- Also: Age (Dordrecht), journal of the American Aging Association, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine, NIH): Age-related cellular changes in the long-lived bivalve A. islandica
- Also: Elsevier (Experimental Gerontology, ScienceDirect): Telomere-independent ageing in the longest-lived non-colonial animal, Arctica islandica
- Also: NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce): Ocean Quahog
- Also: Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences (Oxford University Press), via PubMed Central / US National Library of Medic: Resistance to Genotoxic Stresses in Arctica islandica, the Longest Living Noncolonial Animal: Is Extreme Longevity Associated With a Multistress Resistance Phenotype?
- Also: Bangor University (School of Ocean Sciences), news archive item dated 14 November 2013: Clam found to be over 500 years old | News and Events
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