How do life spans of animals differ?

Answer 1

Each species has an average live span and individuals within each species can have their own life span. For example, according to the CDC the average life expectancy for a human is 77.7 years. Some humans die at birth while others live past 100.

Some species, like flies, have very short life spans, averaging only one day while a Galapagos tortoise could live more than 200 years.

Even within a species there is variation. For example, a large breed dog like an Irish Wolfhound has an average life expectancy of 6.2 years while a small breed dog like a Miniature Poodle has an average life expectancy of 14.8 years.

Answer 2

The life cycle of an animal describes the stages an animal will go throughout their life. A life span is how long that type of animal lives, on average.

We can use elephants for an example.

The life cycle of an elephant is the baby, the adolescent and the adult elephant. The baby develops inside the mother for about twenty two months before it is born. After being born, the baby stage while last the entire time it is nursing from its mother. This can be between five to ten years.

When the baby is weaned from its mother, it is an adolescent. The elephant remains an adolescent while it reaches sexual maturity, at around seventeen years of age. Bull elephants may start to come into their own and leave the heard during this stage.

When the elephant is old enough to mate, somewhere between eighteen to twenty years of age, they are considered adults. They quit bearing calves at around fifty years of age.

The average life span of an elephant is seventy years of age.

Answer 3

The life span of an animal is generally determined by the amount of osteon located in their bone marrow. It also depends somewhat on the size of their ilium.

Answer 4

An animal's life span is literally how long it lives. It's life cycle is the phases of development and behaviors that occur during that life span.