Maximum Life Span - in Other Animals

In Other Animals

Small animals such as birds and squirrels rarely live to their maximum life span, usually dying of accidents, disease or predation. Grazing animals accumulate wear and tear to their teeth to the point where they can no longer eat, and they die of starvation.

The maximum life span of most species has not been accurately determined, because the data collection has been minimal and the number of species studied in captivity (or by monitoring in the wild) has been small.

Maximum life span is usually longer for species that are larger or have effective defenses against predation, such as bird flight, tortoise shells, porcupine quills, or large primate brains.

The differences in life span between species demonstrate the role of genetics in determining maximum life span ("rate of aging"). The records (in years) are these:

• for common house mouse, 4
• for Norway rat 7
• for dogs, 29 (See List of oldest dogs)
• for cats, 38
• for polar bears, 42 (Debby)
• for horses, 62
• for Asian elephants, 86

The longest-lived vertebrates have been variously described as

• Macaws (A parrot that can live up to 80–100 years in captivity)
• Koi (A Japanese species of fish, 200+ years, though generally not exceeding 25) Hanako was reportedly 226 years old upon her death.
• Greenland Sharks (A species of shark native to the North Atlantic, believed to be about 200 years)
• Tortoises (Galápagos tortoise) (190 years)
• Tuataras (a New Zealand reptile species, 100-200+ years)
• Eels, the so called Brantevik eel (Swedish: Branteviksålen) is thought to have lived in a water well in southern Sweden since 1859, which makes it over 150 years old.
• Whales (Bowhead Whale) (Balaena mysticetus about 200 years)

Although this idea was unproven for a time, recent research has indicated that bowhead whales recently killed still had harpoons in their bodies from about 1890, which, along with analysis of amino acids, has indicated a maximum life span, stated as "the 211 year-old bowhead could have been from 177 to 245 years old". However, with the possible exception of the Bowhead whale, the claims of lifespans >100 year must be taken with some skepticism as they rely on conjecture (e.g. counting otoliths) rather than empirical, continuous documentation.

Invertebrate species which continue to grow as long as they live (e.g., certain clams, some coral species) can on occasion live hundreds of years:

• A bivalve mollusc (Arctica islandica) (aka "Ming" between 405–410 years old)