Unfortunately, their calculations of Ming's age weren't possible without cracking open the clam's shell, so researchers didn't realize they were in possession of what was likely the world's oldest living animal â until they had already killed it.
Natural history. 1  All gerbils have long hind feet and fairly large ears and eyes, but there is variation among other characteristics. Body form varies from stout and compact to slender and gracile. 2  Most gerbils are nocturnal; a few species, however, are active only in early morning and evening or during the day. Gerbils walk and scamper on all four limbs and flee in running leaps when alarmed. Some construct short, simple burrows, but others construct elaborate underground galleries.
The western banded gecko, like other geckos, is nocturnal. It avoids the heat of the day by hiding under logs, debris and within moist rock crevices. Geckos frequent rodent burrows where they hunt insects, spiders, baby scorpions and other small arthropods. Prey is stalked to within an inch, then captured in the jaws with a final lunge. After a meal, the gecko cleans it s face with its tongue. It also eats its old skin which peels off during the shedding process.