Wilkinson, G.S. and Adams, D.M. Biol Lett 15, 20180860 (2019)

Broadly, bats live quite a long time relative to their body size. Understanding why intrigues many researchers interested in aging and longevity. Recently, Gerald Wilkinson and Danielle Adams from the University of Maryland reconstructed size-adjusted longevity quotients for bats using modern molecular phylogenies and then analyzed several factors that might explain lifespan differences between lineages.

Their results suggest that ‘extreme’ longevity evolved at least four times in bats, and that the ancestral bat lived 2.6 times longer than a similarly sized mammal. Hibernation seems to be a key factor among the longest-lived bats—the exception, a non-hibernating vampire bat, does undergo torpor, suggesting that body temperature plays a role. Among the non-hibernators, cave-roosters and species where males and females are about the same size tend to live the longest.