Do Bigger Creatures Live Longer?
In short: Across mammals, heavier species tend to have longer maximum lifespans, but Brandt's bat and the naked mole-rat sit far above the trend, bowhead ages are wild estimates rather than records, and record-based comparisons have real limits.
A 1:27 short film in the series “Nature: How Long Can It Live?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Springer Nature (journal Biochemistry (Moscow), published by Pleiades Publishing), “Relationships among Development, Growth, Body Size, Reproduction, Aging, and Longevity – Trade-Offs and Pace-Of-Life - Biochemistry (Moscow)”; Ecology and Evolution (John Wiley & Sons Ltd), open-access article by Hallmann & Griebeler, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (2018), hosted on PubMed Central (NCBI/NLM), “An exploration of differences in the scaling of life history traits with body mass within reptiles and between amniotes”; Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences (Oxford University Press / Gerontological Society of America), author manuscript hosted on PubMed Central (US National Library of Medi…, “An Analysis of the Relationship Between Metabolism, Developmental Schedules, and Longevity Using Phylogenetic Independent Contrasts”; Population Ecology (Springer), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); article by James J. Anderson, University of Washington, “The relationship of mammal survivorship and body mass modeled by metabolic and vitality theories”; Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15, 03/07/2023), maintained by the Genomics of Ageing and Rejuvenation Lab, “House mouse (Mus musculus) longevity, ageing, and life history”; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (HERO database), indexing George JC et al. 1999, Canadian Journal of Zoology, pp. 571-580, “Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) via aspartic acid racemization”; Science Advances (American Association for the Advancement of Science), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); Breed, Vermeulen & Corkeron 2024, doi:10.1126/sciadv.adq3086, “Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales”; NOAA Arctic Program (Arctic Report Card 2020; J. C. George, S. E. Moore, J. G. M. Thewissen), “Bowhead Whales: Recent Insights into Their Biology, Status, and Resilience”; Nature Communications (Nature Portfolio, Springer Nature), “Genome analysis reveals insights into physiology and longevity of the Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii”; GeroScience (Springer), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); authors at Calico Life Sciences LLC and University of Illinois Chicago, “Five years later, with double the demographic data, naked mole-rat mortality rates continue to defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age”; Aging Cell (Wiley), via PubMed Central, U.S. National Library of Medicine; Moorad, Promislow, Flesness & Miller, 2012, “A comparative assessment of univariate longevity measures using zoological animal records”; PeerJ (Jack Thorley, 2020; hosted on PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine), “The case for extended lifespan in cooperatively breeding mammals: a re-appraisal”; Systematic Biology, vol. 41 (1992): Garland, Harvey & Ives, University of Wisconsin and University of Oxford; PDF hosted by University of California, Riverside, “GarlEA92.pdf”.
Sources used in this film
- Springer Nature (journal Biochemistry (Moscow), published by Pleiades Publishing) — Relationships among Development, Growth, Body Size, Reproduction, Aging, and Longevity – Trade-Offs and Pace-Of-Life - Biochemistry (Moscow) · View →
- Ecology and Evolution (John Wiley & Sons Ltd), open-access article by Hallmann & Griebeler, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (2018), hosted on PubMed Central (NCBI/NLM) — An exploration of differences in the scaling of life history traits with body mass within reptiles and between amniotes · View →
- Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences (Oxford University Press / Gerontological Society of America), author manuscript hosted on PubMed Central (US National Library of Medi… — An Analysis of the Relationship Between Metabolism, Developmental Schedules, and Longevity Using Phylogenetic Independent Contrasts · View →
- Population Ecology (Springer), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); article by James J. Anderson, University of Washington — The relationship of mammal survivorship and body mass modeled by metabolic and vitality theories · View →
- Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15, 03/07/2023), maintained by the Genomics of Ageing and Rejuvenation Lab — House mouse (Mus musculus) longevity, ageing, and life history · View →
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (HERO database), indexing George JC et al. 1999, Canadian Journal of Zoology, pp. 571-580 — Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) via aspartic acid racemization · View →
- Science Advances (American Association for the Advancement of Science), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); Breed, Vermeulen & Corkeron 2024, doi:10.1126/sciadv.adq3086 — Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales · View →
- NOAA Arctic Program (Arctic Report Card 2020; J. C. George, S. E. Moore, J. G. M. Thewissen) — Bowhead Whales: Recent Insights into Their Biology, Status, and Resilience · View →
- Nature Communications (Nature Portfolio, Springer Nature) — Genome analysis reveals insights into physiology and longevity of the Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii · View →
- GeroScience (Springer), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); authors at Calico Life Sciences LLC and University of Illinois Chicago — Five years later, with double the demographic data, naked mole-rat mortality rates continue to defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age · View →
- Aging Cell (Wiley), via PubMed Central, U.S. National Library of Medicine; Moorad, Promislow, Flesness & Miller, 2012 — A comparative assessment of univariate longevity measures using zoological animal records · View →
- PeerJ (Jack Thorley, 2020; hosted on PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine) — The case for extended lifespan in cooperatively breeding mammals: a re-appraisal · View →
- Systematic Biology, vol. 41 (1992): Garland, Harvey & Ives, University of Wisconsin and University of Oxford; PDF hosted by University of California, Riverside — GarlEA92.pdf · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Springer Nature (journal Biochemistry (Moscow), published by Pleiades Publishing): Relationships among Development, Growth, Body Size, Reproduction, Aging, and Longevity – Trade-Offs and Pace-Of-Life - Biochemistry (Moscow)
- Also: Ecology and Evolution (John Wiley & Sons Ltd), open-access article by Hallmann & Griebeler, Johannes Gutenberg-Universit: An exploration of differences in the scaling of life history traits with body mass within reptiles and between amniotes
- Also: Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences (Oxford University Press / Gerontological Society of Am: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Metabolism, Developmental Schedules, and Longevity Using Phylogenetic Independent Contrasts
- Also: Population Ecology (Springer), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine); article by James J. Anderson, Unive: The relationship of mammal survivorship and body mass modeled by metabolic and vitality theories
- Also: Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15, 03/07/2023), maintaine: House mouse (Mus musculus) longevity, ageing, and life history
- Also: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (HERO database), indexing George JC et al. 1999, Canadian Journal of Zoology 77: 57: Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) via aspartic acid racemization
- Also: Science Advances (American Association for the Advancement of Science), hosted on PubMed Central by the U.S. National Li: Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales
- Also: NOAA Arctic Program (Arctic Report Card 2020; J. C. George, S. E. Moore, J. G. M. Thewissen): Bowhead Whales: Recent Insights into Their Biology, Status, and Resilience
- Also: Nature Communications (Nature Portfolio, Springer Nature): Genome analysis reveals insights into physiology and longevity of the Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii
- Also: PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine, NIH); article published in GeroScience (Springer), DOI 10.1007/s11357-0: Five years later, with double the demographic data, naked mole-rat mortality rates continue to defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age
- Also: Aging Cell (Wiley), via PubMed Central, U.S. National Library of Medicine; Moorad, Promislow, Flesness & Miller, 2012: A comparative assessment of univariate longevity measures using zoological animal records
- Also: PeerJ (Jack Thorley, 2020; hosted on PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine): The case for extended lifespan in cooperatively breeding mammals: a re-appraisal
- Also: Systematic Biology, vol. 41 (1992): Garland, Harvey & Ives, University of Wisconsin and University of Oxford; PDF hosted: GarlEA92.pdf
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