Thursday 10 September 2015

Creature 345: Arctica islandica



Old food

Arctica islandica is a fairly ordinary looking clam commonly referred to as the ocean quahog.
Arctica islandica.

They are commonly harvested and eaten by humans and are commercially available and you may have eaten them yourself. However while most individuals will be very young, these clams can live hundreds of years. The record was a 507 year old specimen collected near iceland and named Ming because it originated from a time wjen the Ming dynasty was in control of China. It was accidentally killed by scientists on a survey and could possibly have survived a lot longer.

Distribution:
Arctica islandica can be found on the ocean floor of the North Atlantic.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Veneroida
Family: Arcticidae
Genus: Arctica
Species: Arctica islandica

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