AnAge entry for Ondatra zibethicus

Classification (HAGRID: 03464)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Rodentia
                Family: Muridae
                    Genus: Ondatra
Species: Ondatra zibethicus
Common name: Muskrat
Synonyms: Castor zibethicus, Ondatra americana

Maximum longevity: Not yet established
Observations: There are conflicting reports about the longevity of the muskrat. In the wild, these animals live about 3 years. It has been suggested that they live up to 10 years in captivity [0434]. While this is plausible, it has not been confirmed. One specimen lived 5.8 years in captivity [0671]. More studies are necessary to better estimate the longevity of the muskrat.

[0776] Seluanov et al. (2007), Telomerase activity coevolves with body mass not lifespan, PubMed
[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
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0441] William Burt et al. (1998), A Field Guide to Mammals
[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
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves