AnAge entry for Tachyglossus aculeatus

Classification (HAGRID: 02623)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Monotremata
                Family: Tachyglossidae
                    Genus: Tachyglossus
Species: Tachyglossus aculeatus
Common name: Short-beaked echidna

Maximum longevity: 49.5 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 671
Sample size: Medium
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: These are relatively long-lived animals. There are anecdotal reports of one animal living over 50 years in captivity [0434]. The record longevity, however, belongs to a 49.5 year-old female kept at Philadelphia Zoo [0671]. These animals have also been reported to live up to 48 years in the wild [0835].

[1136] Gomes et al. (2011), Comparative biology of mammalian telomeres: hypotheses on ancestral states and the roles of telomeres in longevity determination (PubMed)
[0978] Jones et al. (2009), PanTHERIA: a species-level database of life history, ecology, and geography of extant and recently extinct mammals
[0845] Hulbert et al. (2008), The exceptional longevity of an egg-laying mammal, the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is associated with peroxidation-resistant membrane composition (PubMed)
[0835] Michael Augee et al. (2006), Echidna: Extraordinary Egg-Laying Mammal
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology
[0420] White and Seymour (2003), Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3 (PubMed)
[0730] Smith et al. (2003), Body mass of late Quaternary mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves