Back in 2006, a clam was found near Iceland, during a study into the effects of climate change. The clam was removed from the sea bed and it's life came to an end when researchers from Bangor University opened it's shell for analysis - killing the clam in the process.
Now, seven years after the discovery, by counting the number of rings on the outside of the shell, scientists calculated that Ming, the mollusc, was born around 1499. The mollusc was named after the Chinese Ming dynasty, which was in power when it was alive. It was swimming in the oceans before Henry VIII took the English throne and Elisabeth I oversaw the rise of the British empire and at 507 years old, it was killed by human curiosity!
Nice one, lads!
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