The mollusk Arctica islandica, nicknamed Ming, found off the coast of Iceland, set an absolute longevity record among known individual (non-colonial) animals.
The initial count of annual rings on its shell indicated an age of over 405 years; however, later radiocarbon analysis refined the figure to 507 years. This means that Ming was born around 1499, during the reign of the dynasty of the same name in China, and lived in the depths of the ocean throughout the entire modern era—from the Great Age of Exploration to the Internet age.
Scientists attribute the incredible longevity of this creature (Arctica islandica) to its extremely slow metabolism, low oxygen consumption, and likely unique genes that ensure high cell regeneration efficiency. Members of this species, which are often harvested for food in New England, typically live for hundreds of years, but Ming's age turned out to be exceptional even for them.
The tragic irony is that the record was discovered only at the moment of its interruption: the mollusk died in 2006 when it was brought up from the seabed and frozen for further study.
Thus, the oldest known living contemporary of Columbus fell victim to scientific interest. This story vividly illustrates how fragile unique testimonies of the past can be, hidden in the depths of the ocean, and how easily human curiosity can destroy them.
