Longevity Records
Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish

Introduction

Figure 1.

Figure Legend

Fig. 1. Summary chart of all longevity data contained in the book for mammals, birds, reptiles/amphibians and fishes. Subgroups such as Orders (mammals) or Superfamilies (birds) within each section were ordered by mean longevity within the group. Statistics including mean, standard deviation and ranges were determined using the maximal age for each species regardless of sex or whether this age was determined from individuals in the wild or from laboratory/zoo records. The objective of this chart is to provide a visual summary of broad trends within and between groups. The rank-ordering (top-to-bottom) by mean longevities for each of the five groups are as follows (see introductory sections for common names):

Mammals

Proboscidae, Cetacea, Perrisodactyla, Pinnepeds, Monotremata, Primates, Edentata, Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Chiroptera, Hyracoidea, Marsupialia, Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Macrocelidae and Insectivora.

Birds

Struthioniformes, Psittaciformes, Coraciiformes, Sphenisciformes, Procellariformes, Gaviformes, Pelecaniformes, Casuariformes, Anseriformes, Ciconiiformes, Gruiformes, Falconiformes, Charadriiformes, Strigiformes, Columbiformes, Piciformes, Galliformes, Passeriformes, Podiformes, Apodiformes, Trochiliformes, Caprimulgiformes, and Cuculiiformes.

Herps

Crocodilians, Testidines, Squmata, Gymnophiona, Anurans, and Lizards.

Fish

Ancipenseriformes, Anguilliformes, Pleuronectiformes, Scorpaeinformes, Gadiformes, Cartilaginous, Siluriformes, Cypriniformes, Perciformes, Salmoniformes, Clupeiformes, Atheriniformes, and Gasterosteiformes.

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