Order

Primates

116 species in 15 families. Maximum lifespan ranges from 13.4 years (Greater dwarf lemur) to 122.5 years (Human).

Species

116

with a complete mtDNA

Lifespan range

13.4–122.5 yr

Longest: Human

Median GC

40.2%

Range 36.3–45.7%

Families

Largest: Cercopithecidae (38)

The Primates tree

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Outer ring: Maximum lifespan, log scale

Each ring is one rank. Scroll or use + and − to zoom, drag to move; select a group to zoom into it, a species to open it.

Families of Primates

15 families, by species count

Where Primates sit among 2,335 species

Whole-genome GC content against maximum lifespan. Hover or tap a point; select it again to open the species.

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Primates (116)
Other species

Longest-lived

Top 5 and the shortest-lived

HumanHomo sapiens122.5 yr
ChimpanzeePan troglodytes68 yr
GorillaGorilla gorilla60.1 yr
OrangutanPongo pygmaeus59 yr
White-handed gibbonHylobates lar56 yr
Greater dwarf lemurCheirogaleus major13.4 yr

What tracks lifespan in Primates

Top 10 of 204 mtDNA features by |ρ| · 118 with q < 0.05

mtDNA features most correlated with log10 maximum lifespan in Primates (n = 112)
Feature	n	r	ρ	q	PIC r	Partial r
CCC codon frequency in all protein-coding genes (% of codons)Codon	112	+0.63	+0.58	2.7×10⁻¹¹ (significant)	+0.24	+0.21
GC skew of whole mtDNAStrand skew	112	−0.55	−0.56	7.9×10⁻⁹ (significant)	−0.15	−0.14
GC skew of ND5Strand skew	112	−0.52	−0.55	7.4×10⁻⁸ (significant)	0.00	−0.23
CGA codon frequency in all protein-coding genes (% of codons)Codon	112	−0.56	−0.55	6.2×10⁻⁹ (significant)	−0.15	−0.05
GC skew of 16S rRNAStrand skew	112	−0.50	−0.54	2.7×10⁻⁷ (significant)	−0.09	−0.37
GC skew of rRNA genesStrand skew	112	−0.52	−0.53	7.4×10⁻⁸ (significant)	−0.10	−0.37
Leu (L) frequency in all protein-coding genes (% of sense codons)Amino acid	112	+0.59	+0.52	2.4×10⁻¹⁰ (significant)	+0.11	+0.18
CGC codon frequency in all protein-coding genes (% of codons)Codon	112	+0.55	+0.52	7.9×10⁻⁹ (significant)	+0.08	+0.09
Homopyrimidine tracts >= 15 bp in the whole mtDNA (count)	112	+0.49	+0.51	3.0×10⁻⁷ (significant)	+0.10	+0.24
GC skew of COX1Strand skew	112	−0.55	−0.51	7.9×10⁻⁹ (significant)	−0.21	−0.21

Lifespan is log₁₀-transformed. r is the Pearson and ρ the Spearman rank correlation across species. q corrects the p-value for testing 204 features at once (Benjamini–Hochberg); green marks q < 0.05.

PIC r uses phylogenetically independent contrasts, so related species do not count as independent evidence. Partial r holds log₁₀ body mass constant, because big animals live longer. Bold values have p < 0.05. Select a feature to plot it against lifespan.

Species in Primates

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20 species

Species in Primates

Homo sapiens	Human	Hominidae	122.5 yr	16,569 bp	44.36%
Pan troglodytes	Chimpanzee	Hominidae	68 yr	16,554 bp	43.69%
Gorilla gorilla	Gorilla	Hominidae	60.1 yr	16,412 bp	43.80%
Pongo pygmaeus	Orangutan	Hominidae	59 yr	16,389 bp	45.67%
Hylobates lar	White-handed gibbon	Hylobatidae	56 yr	16,472 bp	45.45%
Pan paniscus	Pygmy chimpanzee, or Bonobo	Hominidae	55 yr	16,563 bp	43.40%
Hylobates agilis	Agile gibbon	Hylobatidae	49 yr	16,500 bp	45.69%
Ateles geoffroyi	Central American spider monkey	Atelidae	47.1 yr	16,563 bp	39.14%
Cebus olivaceus	Weeping capuchin	Cebidae	47 yr	16,553 bp	39.05%
Ateles paniscus	Black spider monkey	Atelidae	46 yr	16,572 bp	38.95%
Sapajus apella	Brown capuchin	Cebidae	46 yr	16,542 bp	39.07%
Cercocebus torquatus	Red-capped mangabey	Cercopithecidae	46 yr	16,542 bp	41.42%
Nomascus leucogenys	Northern white-cheeked gibbon, or White-cheeked gibbon	Hylobatidae	44.1 yr	16,478 bp	45.10%
Ateles marginatus	White-whiskered spider monkey	Atelidae	44 yr	16,537 bp	39.19%
Symphalangus syndactylus	Siamang	Hylobatidae	43 yr	16,516 bp	43.51%
Ateles chamek	Chamek spider monkey	Atelidae	42.8 yr	16,537 bp	39.10%
Hoolock hoolock	Western hoolock gibbon, or Hoolock gibbon	Hylobatidae	41 yr	16,495 bp	44.40%
Cebus albifrons	White-fronted capuchin	Cebidae	40.4 yr	16,554 bp	39.08%
Macaca mulatta	Rhesus monkey	Cercopithecidae	40 yr	16,564 bp	43.23%
Macaca silenus	Liontail macaque	Cercopithecidae	40 yr	16,541 bp	42.86%