Animal lifespans: 31 sourced records

What this topic measures

AnAge is a comparative-biology database. Maximum longevity and typical lifespan are different measurements. The unit is years. This topic uses ratio scoring: a value half the target and a value twice the target are equally far away, so think in multiplicative bands rather than fixed steps.

A record is a named row in the frozen catalog, not necessarily a unique entity. Some topics contain several records with the same value, and a name round accepts any record at the closest distance. The table below is the complete answer set for this topic; there is no hidden shortlist.

All 31 records

Every row links to the original source used for that record. Values are rounded for display only; the scoring engine uses the stored source value. The snapshot date and unit are part of the topic’s definition, so a current live figure may differ.

The table has 31 rows, one for each accepted record. It does not list every alias or spelling variant; the game’s name matcher handles those at answer time. If two records share a value, both remain separate rows.

The range and the gaps

The 31 records run from 0.3 years to 211 years. The median is 43.8 years, with a middle half from 24 years to 60.7 years. The largest adjacent gap is 54.5 years between Human and Galapagos tortoise. 1 records share a value with another record, so names can be tied even when their values are equal.

The highest listed records are Bowhead whale (211 years), Galapagos tortoise (177 years), Human (122.5 years). The lowest are Fruit fly (0.3 years), House mouse (4 years), Rat (4.2 years). Use these as anchors before you make a ratio or year estimate; the table below gives every value.

What the table does not tell you

These are single snapshot values in years for AnAge build 15 · selected species · high/acceptable records. The table is not a time series, a range of typical values or a measure of uncertainty. A source can round, revise or use a different definition in a later release; the game uses the stored snapshot for every score. Read the source and the record label before treating a value as a current live measurement.

How to estimate this topic

Animal longevity is the maximum recorded lifespan, not average life expectancy. Captivity and data quality affect the record. Use 10, 50 and 100 years bands; a bowhead whale and a Galapagos tortoise sit well above familiar mammals.

For a method that applies across topics, see the estimation guide. To practise this topic without changing a daily result, open the practice setup for Animal lifespans. The setup opens first; it does not start a clock automatically.

Recent daily use

No completed daily flight has used this topic yet. The next flights may include it; the practice setup is available now without changing a daily score.

Practise Animal lifespans →

Source, licence and snapshot

The listed source is AnAge · de Magalhães & Costa / HAGR ↗. Source release: Build 15, 2023-07-03. Snapshot: 2026-10-24. Licence / attribution: CC BY 3.0.

We select and transform source records for independently written game rules. The source material remains subject to its original licence. If a value looks wrong, send the topic, record, expected value and source through the contact form; do not send passwords or account credentials.

Related topics

Mountain heights (8 records) · River journeys (30 records) · Lakes from above (30 records) · Animal scales (29 records)

All 27 topics · Archive · Source attribution