Abstract:
Popular and scientific interest in menopause in humans has led to an
Springer
increased interest in the extent of post-fertile life in other animals, particularly in
International
long-lived social species such as other primates and cetaceans. Information on max-
Publishing
imum lifespan achieved and age at last birth are available from long-term observa-
tions of known individuals from 11 primate species in the wild. Comparable
information from wild cetaceans are more difficult to obtain; however there are
relevant fisheries data, as well as a small number of long-term individual-based
studies. Using post-reproductive representation (PrR) as a population measure of
post-fertile lifespan that allows comparisons across populations and species, this
review confirms that among primates, only humans have a maximum lifespan sig-
nificantly longer than 50 years, and only human female life history includes a sig-
nificant post-fertile stage of life. We conclude that although a prolonged post-fertile
stage of life is very rare in mammals, it does occur in some exceptionally long-lived
taxa, such as humans and resident killer and short-finned pilot whales. Thus meno-
pause evolved independently at least three times in mammals, and the reasons for its
evolution may differ in different lineages.
