AnAge entry for Macaca mulatta

Classification (HAGRID: 03168)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Primates (Taxon entry)
                Family: Cercopithecidae
                    Genus: Macaca
Species: Macaca mulatta
Common name: Rhesus monkey

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

IMR

0.02/year

MRDT

15 years

Maximum longevity

40 years (captivity)

Source

ref. 1074

Sample size

Large

Data quality

High

Observations

Despite a higher MRDT [0058], rhesus macaques appear to age significantly faster than humans do from a physiological perspective [0002]. The females of this species reach menopause at about the age of 25 [0434]. Four male monkeys under caloric restriction for part of their lives and one fed a normal diet have lived beyond 40 years [1074].

Old animals suffer from various age-related diseases common in humans, including heart disease and cancer; amyloidosis, diabetes and, in females, endometriosis have also been reported [0981]. One ongoing study reported that caloric restriction can lower the incidence of ageing-related deaths [0873], while another ongoing study reported that caloric restriction did not improve survival even if beneficial health effects were observed [1074].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity: 1,231 days
Male sexual maturity: 2,007 days
Gestation: 165 days
Weaning: 292 days
Litter size: 1 (viviparous)
Litters per year: 1
Inter-litter interval: 444 days
Weight at birth: 464 g
Weight at weaning: 1,454 g
Adult weight: 8,235 g
Postnatal growth rate: 0.0012 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual: 206%

Metabolism

Typical body temperature: 310ºK or 37.3ºC or 99.1ºF
Basal metabolic rate: Not yet available

References

[1074] Mattison et al. (2012), Impact of caloric restriction on health and survival in rhesus monkeys from the NIA study, PubMed
[0920] Bendlin et al. (2011), Effects of aging and calorie restriction on white matter in rhesus macaques, PubMed
[0938] Haberthur et al. (2010), Immune senescence in aged nonhuman primates, PubMed
[0981] Wolf and Austad (2010), Introduction: Lifespans and Pathologies Present at Death in Laboratory Animals
[0873] Colman et al. (2009), Caloric restriction delays disease onset and mortality in rhesus monkeys, PubMed
[0916] McKiernan et al. (2009), Longitudinal analysis of early stage sarcopenia in aging rhesus monkeys, PubMed
[1036] Crean et al. (2007), Oral administration of (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and (+)methamphetamine alters temperature and activity in rhesus macaques, PubMed
[0727] Downs et al. (2007), Orexin neuronal changes in the locus coeruleus of the aging rhesus macaque, PubMed
[0517] Colman et al. (2005), Muscle mass loss in Rhesus monkeys: Age of onset, PubMed
[0976] Cohen (2004), Female post-reproductive lifespan: a general mammalian trait, PubMed
[0465] Corr (2004), Nuns and monkeys: investigating the behavior of our oldest old, PubMed
[0464] Roth et al. (2004), Aging in rhesus monkeys: relevance to human health interventions, PubMed
[0149] Goncharova and Lapin (2004), Age-related endocrine dysfunction in nonhuman primates, PubMed
[0174] Small et al. (2004), Imaging correlates of brain function in monkeys and rats isolates a hippocampal subregion differentially vulnerable to aging, PubMed
[0328] Hinman et al. (2004), Activation of calpain-1 in myelin and microglia in the white matter of the aged rhesus monkey, PubMed
[0329] Luebke et al. (2004), Normal aging results in decreased synaptic excitation and increased synaptic inhibition of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells in the monkey prefrontal cortex, PubMed
[0330] Zhang et al. (2004), Age-related alterations in cytochrome c-mediated caspase activation in rhesus macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta) brains, PubMed
[0331] Fukumoto et al. (2004), Beta-secretase activity increases with aging in human, monkey, and mouse brain, PubMed
[0152] Muehlenbein et al. (2003), Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate as a biomarker of senescence in male non-human primates, PubMed
[0601] Bodkin et al. (2003), Mortality and morbidity in laboratory-maintained Rhesus monkeys and effects of long-term dietary restriction, PubMed
[0095] Shimizu et al. (2003), In vitro aging of macaque adherent cells: similar pattern of cellular aging between human and macaque, PubMed
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0681] Peter Kappeler and Michael Pereira (2003), Primate Life Histories and Socioecology
[0332] Fowler et al. (2002), Effects of caloric restriction and aging on the auditory function of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): The University of Wisconsin Study, PubMed
[0157] Goncharova and Lapin (2002), Effects of aging on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system function in non-human primates, PubMed
[0467] Lindenfors (2002), Sexually antagonistic selection on primate size
[0333] Roth et al. (2001), Dietary caloric restriction prevents the age-related decline in plasma melatonin levels of rhesus monkeys, PubMed
[0334] Kayo et al. (2001), Influences of aging and caloric restriction on the transcriptional profile of skeletal muscle from rhesus monkeys, PubMed
[0430] Moscrip et al. (2000), Locomotor activity in female rhesus monkeys: assessment of age and calorie restriction effects, PubMed
[0335] Colman et al. (1999), Skeletal effects of aging in male rhesus monkeys, PubMed
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0463] Austad (1997), Small nonhuman primates as potential models of human aging, PubMed
[0235] Gearing et al. (1996), A beta40 is a major form of beta-amyloid in nonhuman primates, PubMed
[0336] Lane et al. (1996), Calorie restriction lowers body temperature in rhesus monkeys, consistent with a postulated anti-aging mechanism in rodents, PubMed
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0713] Martin et al. (1991), Amyloid precursor protein in aged nonhuman primates, PubMed
[0390] Ingram et al. (1990), Dietary restriction and aging: the initiation of a primate study, PubMed
[0058] Finch et al. (1990), Slow mortality rate accelerations during aging in some animals approximate that of humans, PubMed
[0002] Caleb Finch (1990), Longevity, Senescence, and the Genome
[0075] Selkoe et al. (1987), Conservation of brain amyloid proteins in aged mammals and humans with Alzheimer's disease, PubMed
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0679] Harvey and Clutton-Brock (1985), Life-history variation in primates
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
[0391] Bito et al. (1982), Age-dependent loss of accommodative amplitude in rhesus monkeys: an animal model for presbyopia, PubMed
[0059] Tolmasoff et al. (1980), Superoxide dismutase: correlation with life-span and specific metabolic rate in primate species, PubMed

External Resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information System: ITIS 180099
Animal Diversity Web: ADW account
Encyclopaedia of Life: Search EOL
Genome Project: Search NCBI
Entrez: Search all databases or Entrez Taxonomy search
Ageing Literature: Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed or Search Scirus
Images: Google Image search
Internet: Search Google