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A 2.6-pound quahog clam is nearly a phenomenon as it is, but one found in Florida is wowing experts after the shellfish is believed to be 214 years old.
Blaine Parker explained that he was collecting shellfish to make chowder at Alligator Point, on St. James Island in Franklin County when he stumbled upon the massive quahog clam.
Quahog clams are an Atlantic species found mostly north of North Carolina, making its discovery especially unique.
Parker told the Tallahassee Democrat, "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."
So he took the clam to the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Florida where researchers revealed the clam was much larger than the average quahog. These clams typically weigh up to half a pound and measure just upwards of 4 inches in length, however, Parker's miraculous clam was measured at 6 inches long.
According to the researchers, the alternating bands of light on the clam's shell indicate it was born in 1809, which happens to be the same year Abraham Lincoln was born.
So, Parker appropriately named his find Aber-Clam Lincoln.
Aber-Clam Lincoln is believed to be the fourth-oldest clam on record, according to the lab officials.
The oldest clam on record is a quahog named Ming, which was discovered off the coast of Iceland in 2007 and was determined to be approximately 507 years old.
Aber-Clam was returned to the Gulf of Mexico, and Parker said, "We just figured he won't live very well in captivity. And I think he's earned the right to stay out there."