Summary
A graphical summary of the longevity data for each of the four broad vertebrate groups is presented in Fig. 1. This figure captures a number of different patterns regarding longevity and vertebrates that other researchers have identified and can be summarized as follows (see Selected References). First, longevity is positively correlated with body size between orders (e.g. the smaller rodents are shorter lived than the larger cetaceans) though not necessarily within orders (e.g. longevity not correlated with body size in the pinnipeds; i.e. seals and walruses). Second, animals that fly (i.e. birds and bats), are armored (turtles; armadillos) or live underground (moles; mole rats) tend to live longer than is predicted from body size alone. Third, life spans differ by a factor of over 50 in mammals, herps and fish and by over 15-fold in birds; body size, metabolic rate, brain size all being positively correlated with life span. Fourth, primates are long-lived mammals, the great apes (i.e. gorillas; chimpanzees) are long lived primates, and humans are extraordinarily long-lived great apes; human longevity exceeds nearly all other species both relatively and absolutely.
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