A clam named 'Ming' has been confirmed as the world’s oldest animal at 507 years old. Ming saw off Queen Elizabeth I, the English Civil War, the entire Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and two World Wars. But its life came to an abrupt end seven years ago when scientists from Bangor University dredged the seabed near Iceland as part of a study into climate change. Not knowing the long life of the mollusc, researchers at Bangor University opened its shell for analysis, killing Ming in the process.