Omer 2019 Day 18: Ocean Quahog Clams

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Omer 2019 Day 18: Netzach in Tiferet, Eternity in Beauty
Ocean Quahog Clams

Sometimes, the most beautiful things are also the most unassuming. The world's oldest known living animal, an ocean quahog clam named "Ming" for the Chinese dynasty in power at its origin, was discovered in 2013. Unfortunately, the best way to gauge the age of these animals is to measure the rings of it's shells' hinge, which results in the death of the mollusk inside. Because Ming was so old, the rings were too close together to count accurately and after counting the rings on the outside of the shell, it was determined that Ming was an astounding 507 years old, and still in good health at its time of death. Given the quiet, enduring nature of these animals, it is entirely possible that other quahog clams exist that are just as old as Ming, or maybe older.

This year's animal Omer is a collaboration between myself and my friend Halli, a PhD in animal science. Thank you for counting the Omer with us!