AnAge entry for Balaena mysticetus

Classification (HAGRID: 02720)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Cetacea (Taxon entry)
                Family: Balaenidae
                    Genus: Balaena
Species: Balaena mysticetus
Common name: Bowhead whale

Maximum longevity: 211 years (wild)
Source: ref. 21
Sample size: Medium
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: These animals exhibit slow growth and high survival. Growth may be faster in females than in males, and it slows down markedly at around 40-50 years of age. Sexual maturity is probably reached at age 20-25. Using an indirect method for age estimation based on aspartic acid racemization, the bowhead whale has been recorded as the longest-lived mammal thanks to one male estimated to be 211 years-old. The same study found three other male specimens estimated to be over 100 years of age. Very few obvious signs of pathology were found in old bowheads. The 211 year-old specimen was reported to appear old with though meat and blubber. One of the centenarian males exhibited a spondylitic lesion on the vertebra. Reproductive senescence has not been reported, though detailed studies are lacking [0021]. While these longevity claims may be overestimated, it is likely that bowhead whales can live longer than humans and are amongst the longest-living mammals.

No information on metabolism is available.

[0978] Jones et al. (2009), PanTHERIA: a species-level database of life history, ecology, and geography of extant and recently extinct mammals
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0890] Zeh et al. (2002), Survival of bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus, estimated from 1981-1998 photoidentification data, PubMed
[0447] Pieter Folkens et al. (2002), National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World
[0021] George et al. (1999), Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) via aspartic acid racemization
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0538] Don Wilson and Sue Ruff (1999), The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals
[0049] John Burns et al. (1993), The Bowhead Whale
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction