Longevity in vertebrates and other species

[Robert Bradbury]

In article <1992May28.150102 at aifh.ed.ac.uk>
  bridget at aifh.ed.ac.uk (Bridget Hallam) writes:
>
>I want to know the vertebrate species with maximum and 
>minimum expected lifespans, for writing up a project about
>robots. Can anyone out there help? 

I'm not sure there is a concept of "minimum expected lifespan".
The maximum expected lifespans for a variety of species are:

	species			tmax, years
  Plants
    Bristlecone pine			> 5,000
    Conifers and deciduous trees	300-1,500
    Bamboo (Phyllostachys)		<= 120
    Century plant (Agave)		> 100
    Puya raimondii			150
  Invertebrates
    Lobster				> 50-100
    Quahog				> 200
  Vertebrates
    Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)	152
    Tortoise				> 150
    Rockfish				> 120
    Homo sapiens			> 110
    Dogfish				70
    Elephant				> 60
    Pilot whales			> 50
    Rinosceros unicornis		> 50
    Hippopotamous amphibius		> 45
    Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)	> 40
    Ringed seal (Phoca hispida)		35
    Eels (Anguilla)			10-15
    Eels (Anguilla, spawning prevented)	60-80

There are many more.  The definitive reference on this is:
  Longevity, Senescence and the Genome (1990) by Caleb E Finch.
It is an amazing book with 680 pages of text and 160 pages of
bibliography.  Well worth reading for anyone interested in
the evolution of ageing.

-- 
Robert Bradbury			uunet!sftwks!bradbury

Death is an imposition on the human race, and no longer acceptable
				Alan Harrington, The Immortalist (1969)