TALLAHASSEE – A clam believed to be more than 200 years old was released last week by the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Florida.
According to the GSML, the geriatric mollusk may have been born in the same year as Abraham Lincoln.
The clam was discovered by one of the lab’s AmeriCorps members, Blaine Parker, over Presidents’ Day weekend when he and his family were walking along Alligator Point near Tallahassee. They were looking for shellfish so that they could prepare some clam chowder.
Upon discovering the mollusk, Parker decided to bring the mollusk to the GSML, where the mollusk was classified as an Ocean quahog or Arctica islandica.
SARASOTA BAY WATCH TO RELEASE CLAMS TO HELP FILTER WATER
Ocean quahogs usually live in habitats along the Atlantic Coast between Newfoundland, Canada and North Carolina, according to the GSML. This means the mollusk Parker found along the Gulf of Mexico was far from home.
In addition to being a bit of a traveler, the clam was also large. The GSML said Ocean quahogs typically have a shell length of about 2.8-4.3 inches long, but the one Parker found measured 6 inches long. Plus, the mollusk weighed 2.6 pounds.
The clam was also significantly old. According to the GSML, Parker calculated the clam’s age by counting the number of layers on its shell and determined that the hefty, traveled Ocean quahog was 214 years old.
This puts the clam’s birth year to 1809 – a birth year it shares with Abraham Lincoln. Because of its association with the 16th President and its discovery over Presidents Day weekend, Parker nicknamed the Ocean quahog “Aber-clam Lincoln.”
Ocean quahogs are some of the longest-lived sea creatures in the world, according to NOAA. Some, such as Aber-clam Lincoln, can live for at least 200 years old.