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.
Well, it eats a lot of seafood.................
I didn’t know class were born.
Maybe that’s part of the new biology that comes with men having babies.
You’re right, pic means nothing without a scale.
Make that clams.
Spellcheck!
Glad they decided not to eat Abra-Clam Lincoln
Now he can Stay Clam and Carry On
👍🤦♂️..................................
The clam reportedly voted twice for Joe Biden in 2020.
Clams reportedly voted Democrat in a sand slide in recent elections. Biden came out with a $1.5 trillion clam spending bill to remedy past clam marginalization .
“...indicate it was born in 1809”
I didn’t know that clams gave birth. I guess you learn something new every day.
FTA: A 2.6-pound quahog claim...
“””””
I guess it only claims to be a clam.
Well, at least it wasn’t a copper clam...............
But...old Abe as Prexy was not so clean shaven. 
If you are, in fact, what your handle claims you are, you should have what you need, close at hand.
I wonder if UPI would have such compassion for a 214 day old fetus? NAAAA!
I assuming at that age that clam had a beard.
Yes they would. UPI is owned by the Unification Church................
😜👌...................................
Yeesss...that is one element. But, what does the clam have that we don’t have? Just asking.
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