The Ocean Quahog

The ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) is a kind of edible clam that is a marine bivalve mollusc in the Arcticidae family. This species is endemic to the North Atlantic Ocean and is commercially exploited as a food source. This species is also known as the Icelandic cyprine, the mahogany clam, the mahogany quahog, the black quahog, and the black clam.

The Arctica islandica resembles the quahog, but the shell of the ocean quahog is rounder, the periostracum is generally black, and the pallial line on the inside of the shell lacks an indentation or sinus. This species, unlike the quahog, lives subtidally and can only be captured by dredging. They may reach shell heights of more than 50 mm (two inches). A solitary specimen was claimed to have lived for 507 years, making it the longest-living non-colonial metazoan whose age was precisely determined.

Age: 500+ years old