AnAge entry for Equus asinus

Classification (HAGRID: 02271)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Perissodactyla
                Family: Equidae
                    Genus: Equus
Species: Equus asinus
Common name: African wild ass
Synonyms: Asinus vulgaris, Equus asinus asinus, Equus asinus palaestinae, Equus africanus asinus

Maximum longevity: 47 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 671
Sample size: Large
Data quality: High
Observations: When domesticated these animals are called donkeys. In captivity the African wild ass can live up to 28.5 years [0671]. Donkeys, however, have been reported to live up to 47 years, and females can reproduce for some 20 years [0434]. While these reports may be true, anecdotal reports of animals living over 50 years are doubtful.

: No information is available on life history. Please contact us if you wish to suggest or contribute data.

[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology
[1108] Argyle et al. (2003), Equine telomeres and telomerase in cellular immortalisation and ageing (PubMed)
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0730] Smith et al. (2003), Body mass of late Quaternary mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data