Scientists Find World's Oldest Animal, Murder It

What is the oldest living creature on Earth?

Bacteria? Let's not count bacteria and any of their relatives, because it's too hard to determine their age. They do not produce annual rings, for instance. Besides, there is speculation that samples as old as 250 million years have been found and revived, and that "death" might not even be a given for such organisms. After all, we can't determine that they are dead because of the lack of brain activity. And even that method is not fool proof, since there are quite a few persons who, by that standard, would be considered dead, but they continue to make important political decisions every day.

Plants? Let's not count plants, either. There are certain plants that continue to live through a root system that creates new above-ground shoots, even as older shoots wither away. In 2004, a Norway Spruce was discovered in Sweden that has a root system that is estimated to be have been growing for 9,550 years, according to radiocarbon dating. This has amazed scientists: They are astonished to find that the Swedes would agree to name a tree "Norway" in their country. The oldest continually standing tree is believed to be a Bristlecone Pine in California (see photo): It is estimated to be about 4,770 years old.

Ok, let's just count animals. Although there are Biblical claims of humans living over 900 years, let's for the moment stick to science. Human life seems to top off at about 120 years, and even that is extremely rare. Most humans, in fact, seem to deteriorate soon after obtaining their AARP discount cards, which can be as early as 50 years. The oldest known bird is a Parrot that is 108 years old -- it used to be owned by Winston Churchill, and still swears against the Nazis. Tortoises are well known for their long lifespans. The longest in recorded history is one that was presented by Captain Cook himself to the Tongan royal family around 1777, during the American Revolution. It died in 1965, at 188 years old. Bowhead Whales are believed to live 150-200 years, but this is very hard to verify.

But there is one animal that has lived much longer than all of these candidates. In 2007, off the coast of Iceland, British scientists dredged an Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) clam out of the water. To determine the clam's age, they cut into the shell to count its rings. It turns out that this particular clam was as much as 410 years old! Oops... cutting the shell happened to kill the specimen. One of the scientists remarked: "For our work, it's a bonus, but it wasn't good for this particular animal." I believe that the scientist's rationalization of the killing was that the clam was expected to live only another 75 years or so anyway. Besides, think about what the nearby restaurant could advertise for its new chowder creation.