“In this way we can use measurements of other shells to determine that we actually arrived at the right age. islandica – patterns that are almost identical in all specimens that have lived in the same area at the same time. islandica.Īccording to Butler, different time periods are represented as unique patterns in the growth rings of the A.

To be extra sure, the British researchers began comparing Ming with other old specimens of the A. When the researchers started to re-date Ming, they therefore decided to look at the growth rings on the outside of the shell, as these were spread over a much wider surface and were thus easier to see.Īnd here they suddenly noticed many more growth rings. Witbaard was not involved in the study of Ming, but he has read the new article. If there is any error, it can only be one or two years,” says marine biologist Rob Witbaard of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, who has researched into the A. So I am very confident that they have now determined the right age. “The age has been confirmed with a variety of methods, including geochemical methods such as the carbon-14 method. How can we be sure that the British researchers have determined Ming’s correct age this time around?Īccording to one of the world’s leading mollusc researchers, there is a general agreement within research circles that 507 years is Ming’s correct age: This photo shows the growth rings inside the shell, which formed the basis for the new, more accurate, estimate. It was for this very reason that the British researchers initially chose to count Ming’s growth rings inside the hinge ligaments. The hinge ligaments that connect the two shells are generally considered to be the best place for counting growth rings. If you have a question about the weird and wild animal world, tweet me, leave me a note or photo in the comments below, or find me on Facebook.The growth rings on the ocean quahog are visible on both the outside and the outside of the shell.

Weird Animal Question of the Week answers your questions every Saturday. What oldsters did we miss? Let us know or leave another question in the comments. Here's hoping their population, at least, can soar again. They're also the only flightless parrots in the world. There are a little more than a hundred kakapos left on Earth. The kakapo, a critically endangered parrot native to New Zealand, lives up to 60 years. Not only that, Wisdom is still giving birth to and raising healthy chicks.īig birds like albatrosses tend to live longer, so they mature later and breed less frequently, Klicka says, whereas small birds “are lucky to live five years in the wild.' That means they must mature quickly and “produce as many clutches as possible” during breeding season. John Klicka, curator of birds at the Burke Museum in Seattle, says the oldest known wild bird is a 65-year-old Laysan albatross named Wisdom, which has shattered scientists' belief that her species lives to 40. One study in the journal Aging Research Reviews notes a deep-sea sponge from the species Monorhaphis chuni lived to be 11,000 years old. Hardt, author of Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection With Sex-Changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters, Kinky Squid, and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep, says via email.Įstimates of sponge longevity vary quite a bit, but are often in the thousands of years. “People often forget sponges are animals”-and some of them very long-lived animals at that, Marah J. We did some digging and found some animals who are really getting the use out of their senior discount cards. That’s not bad compared with some adult female mayflies, which live for under five minutes-just long enough to mate and lay eggs.

Kidding aside, humans these days live pretty long lives: The average global life expectancy of someone born in 2015 is 71.4 years. 'What’s the top ranking of the longest living animal?” Mohamed Larbi Bahou asked Weird Animal Question of the Week.

Oldest animal age