A Formica ant suspends a drop of aphid honeydew between her mandibles (which bristle with 7 or more teeth), as she drinks it. 
		Photo courtesy of Alex Wild, copyright, used with permission.WonderQuest:  On the web since 1997...      

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Question for readers to answer:

Macaque monkey,  Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in Lopburi, Thailand.  Photo courtesy of 'Chris huh' and Wikipedia.

If a human yawns in front of a monkey, will the monkey yawn?

Deadline:  June 4.  We will publish the best answers on June 9.

You get the credit.

Click here to give me your answer: Answer the question.


Interacting with nature by K:

How to Offer Wild Birds Shelter in the Winter

Not all birds migrate south for the winter.  Winter is a hard season for birds, and many risk freezing to death at night. It doesn't take much effort or money to provide shelter for them, and it can make a huge difference to the little feathered guys!

More Articles >>

 

 

Longest and shortest life spans

The short-lived gastrotrich.  Courtesy of Jasper Nance and Wikipedia.Q: Which animal has longest and which the shortest life span?

The short-lived gastrotrich. Courtesy of Jasper Nance and Wikipedia.

A: The giant tortoise lives the longest, about 177 years in captivity, and the gastrotrich (a minute aquatic animal) lives the shortest three days.

This question brings up intriguing matters, such as: what is an animal, can we compare all animals together, when does life begin and end, what can we actually observe?  Here are some answers:

Animals are living things that aren't plants. Animal cells lack cellulose walls and chlorophyll. Animals can't photosynthesize to eat; they need more complex food, like proteins. They move around when they want to and respond quickly if poked or otherwise stimulated.

Protozoans are animals, but can we include such animals in our search for extreme life spans? No, because protozoans reproduce by dividing a single parent. They are not individuals and essentially live forever, or as long as the species survives. We can't compare colonies or genetically identical organisms with distinct individuals that result from a sexual reproduction. That's comparing apples with oranges.

Certain fishes and reptiles apparently keep on growing for extended lives unless some accident befalls them. Is one of them the oldest animal? Maybe. But, such animals live in the wild. We can't observe them for the length of time it takes to determine their eventual life span. Animals move around, which makes evaluating their age difficult. We determine species life spans usually from captive animals because we can track their ages.

So, that's how I arrived at the answer--from animals in captivity. The longest-lived captive animal is the giant tortoise (177 years) and the shortest, the gastrotich (3 days).

By the way, Forest Preserve District of Cook County presents examples of extreme old age in a nature bulletin (No. 486-A, dated  March 24, 1973).  Here's their animal old age table, chosen from reliable records of zoos and aquariums all over the world:

 
MAMMALS         YEARS

Elephant        69
Horse           50
Hippopotamus    49
Chimpanzee      40
Grizzly Bear    32
Bison           30
Lion            30
Tiger           25
Elk             22
Mountain Lion   20
Beaver          19
Wolf            16
Squirrel        16
Chipmunk        12
Cottontail      10
House Mouse     4
BIRDS           YEARS

Turkey Buzzard  118
Swan            102
Parrot           80
Great Horned Owl 68
Eagle            55
English Sparrow  23
Canary           22
Humming Bird      8

 

FISH            YEARS
Catfish          60
Eel              55
Carp             47
Mosquitofish      2

 

REPTILES        YEARS

Giant Tortoise  152
Box Turtle      123
Alligator        68
Snapping Turtle  57
Cobra            28
Cottonmouth      21
AMPHIBIANS      YEARS

Giant Salamander 55
Toad             36
Bullfrog         30
Mud Puppy        23
Green Frog       10
Newt              7
INSECTS         YEARS
Cicada           17
Ant (queen)      15

 

Finally, a Danish study of 3000 dogs indicated that the median life span of all dogs in the study was 10 years, reported Helle Friis Proschowsky, an animal scientist at Denmark's Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the Danish Kennel Club. Mixed breed canines generally lived for another year, dying at a median age of 11 years.  Smaller breeds generally lived longer than bigger ones.

(Answered April 4, 2001)

Further Surfing:

Why do larger animals live longer than smaller ones?  WonderQuest

Life Span of Ancient Man — long or short?  WonderQuest

Gastrotrich, Wikipedia

Giant tortoise, Wikipedia

Life span, Encyclopedia Britannica

Q: Which mammal has longest and which the shortest life span?

A: If we just look at mammals, then primates are the longest lived group and man is the longest lived of the primates: 122 years (Jeanne Louise Calment, 1875 - 1997). Tiny shrews live the shortest: maybe 1 to 1.5 years. Interesting enough, among primates the bigger your brain, the longer you live. The faster you live, though, the shorter you live. Squirrel-like rodents live two or three times longer than mouse-like rodents because their rate of metabolism is slower.

(Answered April 4, 2001)

 

 

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