AnAge entry for Elephas maximus

Classification (HAGRID: 03265)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Proboscidea
                Family: Elephantidae
                    Genus: Elephas
Species: Elephas maximus
Common name: Asian elephant

Maximum longevity: 65.5 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 671
Sample size: Large
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: Elephants are long-lived mammals but suffer from teeth erosion as a type of mechanical senescence despite having as much as six sets of molars in a lifetime. Although both sexes may become sexually mature at about 9 years of age, males do not normally reproduce until they are about 15 years old. Full size is attained at about 17 years of age [0434]. There is much speculation and anecdotes about the longevity of elephants with reports of animals living more than 80 years. In particular, it has been reported that a male elephant called "Lin Wang" died at the age of 86 in Taipei Zoo [0536]. This record is unconfirmed, however, because the animal was estimated to be 26 when it was obtained, which is impossible to verify. Other reports of animals living over 70 years are plausible but have not yet been verified. Therefore, the oldest elephant on record was probably a wild born female that was about 65-66 years when she died in captivity [0671].

[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
[0536] Wiese and Willis (2004), Calculation of longevity and life expectancy in captive elephants
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[1006] Sarma et al. (2002), Medetomidine a novel immobilizing agent for the elephant (Elephas maximus), PubMed
[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
[0568] Jones (1992), Longevity of mammals in captivity--an update, PubMed
[0002] Caleb Finch (1990), Longevity, Senescence, and the Genome
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0436] Cutler (1979), Evolution of human longevity: a critical overview, PubMed