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Quahog clam found off Florida coast believed to be 214 years old
UPI ^
| By Ben Hooper
Posted on 03/01/2023 12:11:16 PM PST by Red Badger
A quahog clam found at Florida's Alligator Point was determined by researchers to be about 214 years old. Photo courtesy of the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab/Facebook
Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A 2.6-pound quahog claim that made a rare visit to the Florida coast is believed by researchers to be 214 years old.
Blaine Parker said he was collecting shellfish to make chowder at Alligator Point, on St. James Island in Franklin County when he found the gigantic quahog clam, an Atlantic species found most often north of North Carolina.
"We were just going to eat it, but we thought about it a while and figured it was probably pretty special. So, we didn't want to kill it," Parker told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Parker took the clam to the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, where researchers confirmed it was much larger than the average quahog, which typically weigh up to half a pound and measure up to 4.3 inches in length. Parker's clam was measured at 6 inches long.
Researchers said the alternating bands of light on the clam's shell indicate it was born in 1809, the same year Abraham Lincoln was born. Parker dubbed his find Aber-Clam Lincoln.
Lab officials said Lincoln is believed to be the fourth-oldest clam on record. The oldest, a quahog named Ming, was discovered off the coast of Iceland in 2007 and was determined to be 507 years old.
Parker and researchers at the lab agreed to return the clam to the Gulf of Mexico.
"We just figured he won't live very well in captivity. And I think he's earned the right to stay out there," Parker said.
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Health/Medicine; History; Local News; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: 214yearsold; animals; chowder; dietandcuisine; fl; florida; floridaclam; godsgravesglyphs; gulfofmexico; mollusk; quahogclam; seafood
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To: Red Badger
Looks more like 215 to me
2
posted on
03/01/2023 12:13:07 PM PST
by
albie
To: albie
Just imagine what all that clam has seen.........................if it had eyes.....................
3
posted on
03/01/2023 12:14:12 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: albie
4
posted on
03/01/2023 12:14:50 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: Red Badger
Can’t imagine putting my tongue on a clam that old.
5
posted on
03/01/2023 12:15:50 PM PST
by
TangoLimaSierra
(⭐⭐To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
To: TangoLimaSierra
ISWYDT!........................
6
posted on
03/01/2023 12:16:09 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: TangoLimaSierra
Can’t imagine putting my tongue on a clam that old. LOL!!
To: Red Badger
8
posted on
03/01/2023 12:17:50 PM PST
by
Magnum44
(...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
To: Red Badger
Maybe the Demonrats can run that clam for president. It’s gotta be more lucid than Braindead.
9
posted on
03/01/2023 12:17:56 PM PST
by
HighSierra5
(The only way you know a commie is lying is when they open their pieholes.)
To: TangoLimaSierra
10
posted on
03/01/2023 12:17:59 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: HighSierra5
Senatorial material, fer sure!............
11
posted on
03/01/2023 12:18:52 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: Magnum44
12
posted on
03/01/2023 12:19:39 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: Red Badger
To: Red Badger
“Parker dubbed his find Aber-Clam Lincoln.”
Aber-Clam Lincoln, love it.
To: Red Badger
Annoying photo has no frame of reference for size (e.g. ruler, coin, hand).
15
posted on
03/01/2023 12:27:27 PM PST
by
NautiNurse
(There was a 2022 mid-term Red Wave...in Florida! )
To: Red Badger
Two nice pots of chowder...
16
posted on
03/01/2023 12:28:07 PM PST
by
Jamestown1630
("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
To: Red Badger
“Hmmmm... a little tough and chewy...”
17
posted on
03/01/2023 12:29:41 PM PST
by
Fido969
(45 is Superman! )
To: TangoLimaSierra
18
posted on
03/01/2023 12:30:45 PM PST
by
bantam
To: NautiNurse
Parker's clam was measured at 6 inches long.
19
posted on
03/01/2023 12:31:48 PM PST
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: Red Badger
Interesting...what about the clam lets it live soooo long? What is in its DNA?
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