Question

Ming, the world's oldest individual animal, was born around 1500. It died in 2006 after it was dredged off the coast of Iceland. What kind of animal was Ming?

Answer 1

Ming was an ocean quahog clam (Arctica islandica), known to be the oldest individual animal, having lived for approximately 507 years until its death in 2006.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ming was not a bird like the dodo, nor a reptile like Cynognathus, but rather it was an ocean quahog clam (Arctica islandica). This clam is a bivalve mollusk that can live for a very long time, with Ming being the oldest recorded at around 507 years old. Unfortunately, Ming died in 2006 after being accidentally captured by researchers off the coast of Iceland. This incident highlights the longevity potential of some marine species and echoes the historical loss of various other animal species due to human activities, such as the overhunting of the dodo bird and Steller's sea cow, or habitat destruction like that of the passenger pigeon.