Table 2.
Mass-Optimized Time to Maturity and Postnatal Growth Rate for Different Mammalian Orders in Comparison With Mass-Optimized Adult Life Span
| Time to Maturity Versus Adult Life Span
|
Growth Rate Versus Adult Life Span
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | No. of Species | % Predicted Time to Maturity | % Predicted Adult Life Span | No. of Species | % Predicted Growth Rate | % Predicted Adult Life Span |
| Eutherians | ||||||
| Artiodactyla | 119 | 75% | 80% | 24 | 131% | 77% |
| Carnivora | 115 | 98% | 107% | 42 | 133% | 107% |
| Chiroptera | 25 | 238% | 247% | 13 | 108% | 270% |
| Insectivora | 19 | 86% | 56% | 13 | 160% | 61% |
| Lagomorpha | 7 | 52% | 73% | 4 | 162% | 69% |
| Macroscelidea | 4 | 52% | 104% | 1 | ND | ND |
| Perissodactyla | 11 | 111% | 97% | 2 | ND | ND |
| Primates | 98 | 231% | 180% | 20 | 33% | 196% |
| Rodentia | 126 | 64% | 76% | 58 | 94% | 78% |
| Sirenia | 3 | 132% | 152% | 1 | ND | ND |
| Xenarthra | 11 | 99% | 135% | 4 | 105% | 181% |
| Marsupials | ||||||
| Dasyuromorphia | 21 | 136% | 56% | 1 | ND | ND |
| Didelphimorphia | 4 | 57% | 46% | 1 | ND | ND |
| Diprotodontia | 31 | 85% | 91% | 13 | 87% | 96% |
| Peramelemorphia | 4 | 36% | 51% | 3 | 85% | 49% |
Notes: Values represent the average residuals of the time to maturity, adult life span, and growth rate calculated from regression analysis and expressed as a percentage of the expected value estimated from the allometric equation. Only orders with data for at least three species are displayed. Taxonomy was retrieved from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (http://www.itis.usda.gov).
ND = not determined.