Table 1.
Selected life history traits of the great apes and common captive primate study species
| Species | Age at first female birth (years) | Interbirth interval (years) | Maximum reported longevity (field) | Maximum reported longevity (captivity) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | 19–20 | 2–4 | 80 | 100 | Robson and Wood (2008) |
| Chimpanzee | 12–16 | 5–6 | 55 | 59 | Wich et al. (2004) |
| Gorilla | 9–13 | 4–6 | 43 | 55 | Yamagiwa (1997) |
| Orangutan | 15–16 | 8–9 | 58 | 59 | Wich et al. (2004) |
| Rhesus | 4–5 | 1–2 | 31b | 40 | Hoffman et al. (2010) |
| Marmoset | 1.3–1.5c | 0.5c | 10 | 17 | Grzimek (1990) and Tardif et al. (2011) |
| Lemur | 0.8–1.0 | 0.33–0.5 | 6 | 18 | Lutermann et al. (2006) |
All data are from field studies except where otherwise noted. Maximum field longevity for humans is estimated from modern hunter–gatherers. “Captive” human longevity represents that under modern technological conditions. Because there are vastly more longevity data on modern humans than any other primate species, maximum captive longevity represents the maximum expected in a sample of 10,000 individuals. All other captive longevities are from the AnAge database (http://genomics.senescence.info/species/)
Chimpanzee common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), gorilla mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei), orangutan Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), rhesus rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), marmoset common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), lemur gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)
aThe alleged 75+ age of a former film-star chimpanzee has been falsified (Rosen 2008)
bFrom provisioned, free-living monkeys introduced on a predator-free island
cCaptive population