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A New Field Record for Bat Longevity

Article in The Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · December 2005
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/60.11.1366 · Source: PubMed

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Journal of Gerontology: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Copyright 2005 by The Gerontological Society of America
2005, Vol. 60A, No. 11, 1366–1368

A New Field Record for Bat Longevity

Andrej J. Podlutsky,1 Alexander M. Khritankov,2
Nikolai D. Ovodov,2 and Steven N. Austad1

1
University of Texas Health Science Center, Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Study, San Antonio.
2
The State Nature Reserve ‘‘Stolby,’’ Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

A new longevity record has been established for a free-living bat—41 years for a male Brandt’s
bat, Myotis brandtii. The exceptional longevity of bats generally, and this species in particular,
should make bats of special interest for researchers studying mechanisms of slow aging.

A male Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii) has recently been

recaptured in the wild 41 years after it was originally
banded, making it the world’s longevity champion among
small mammals (Figure 1). In terms of its longevity
quotient, which is longevity standardized by body size (1),
M. brandtii lives 9.8 times longer than expected—the
highest value reported for any mammal, even those
maintained in captivity. The fact that this animal could
survive this long in the wild indicates very well-preserved
function. That is, the animal had to have well-maintained
high frequency hearing to detect prey with its echolocation,
as well as fly fast enough, and maneuver with enough
agility, to capture prey and avoid predators on a daily basis.
In a several-year period around 1962, 1544 individual
bats were banded in several cave colonies of M. brandtii in
the Biryusa karst region of Siberia in Russia. From this
original marked population, at least 67 animals—all
males—lived longer than 20 years (Table 1). Due to a
scarcity of field data (there were no speleological expe-
ditions in the region between 1990 and 2000), the numbers
of animals living to between 28 and 38 years of age may
be unrepresentative.
The general pattern for mammals is that larger species
are longer-lived than smaller species (1). However, bats are
a major exception to this pattern, with longevity of more
than 20 years now documented for 22 bat species, more than
30 years for six species (2), and now more than 40 years
for one species (Figure 2). Although several long-lived bat
species are large (300–1000 grams), most are small.
Thirteen species in the genus Myotis, ranging in size from
7 to 25 grams, have been documented to live at least 20
years in the wild. M. brandtii weighs only 6–6.7 grams
before hibernation and 5–6.2 grams after hibernation.
Khritankov and Ovodov (3) previously reported a maxi-
mum longevity record of 38 years for Brandt’s bat.
However, 3 years later the same bat was recaptured during
hibernation.
A substantial period of yearly hibernation has been
advanced as one cause of the exceptional longevity of bats.
Indeed, M. brandtii hibernates from late September until the
middle of June in Siberia. However, both hibernating and
nonhibernating species of bats are long-lived. In a compar-
ative analysis of bat longevity, the strongest correlate of
longevity was reproductive rate, with short life being asso-
ciated with more young bats produced per year. The next
strongest correlate was hibernation, with hibernating
bats living, on average, 6 years longer than nonhibernating
bats. Latitude (associated with length of hibernation)
and habit of cave roosting were also correlated with
longevity (2).
It is not clear why all long-lived individuals are male, but
the same pattern has been reported in another exceptionally
long-lived species, the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus,
W. H. Davis, personal communication with S. N. A., 2002).
Males spend longer in hibernation than do females, who
have to awaken earlier to join maternity colonies. Also,
because bat offspring are exceptionally large (about 25% of
maternal body size), pregnant females are likely to be less
agile in flight and may be more susceptible to predation.
Female bats also face considerable energetic demands
during lactation as they suckle their young until they
are almost the size of adults (4). One or more of these
factors could be involved in the apparent sex difference
in longevity.
What other than sex might distinguish long-lived
individuals from their shorter-lived colony mates? Very
anecdotally, long-lived animals seem to choose hibernation
sites within caves that are highly buffered from the outside
environment, and they also seem exceptionally placid, not
struggling exceptionally hard when being handled and
returning to hibernation very quickly. This could potentially
indicate that they are particularly deep or long hibernators.
Longer hibernators have been shown to live longer than
shorter hibernators in Turkish hamsters (5).
Of interest to gerontologists, of course, are the mecha-
nisms that enable bats to survive so long and maintain their
ability to function at a high level physically. One possibility
is that they are particularly resistant to oxidative damage. M.
lucifugus, which lives up to 34 years in the wild, has been
reported to produce fewer reactive oxygen species per unit
of oxygen consumed in heart, brain, and kidney compared
with two similar-sized, but much shorter-lived, mammal
species (short-tailed shrew, white-footed mouse). No differ-
ences between species were found in superoxide dismutase

1366
 BAT LONGEVITY RECORD 1367

Figure 1. Myotis brandtii roosting in a cave (A), and ‘‘facing’’ the camera (B). [Photos by Alexander Khritankov.]

activity (6). Unfortunately, no measures of age-related 18.5 years. Although winter conditions are slightly warmer
oxidative damage to tissues have yet been reported for any around St. Petersburg (hibernation occurs only from
species of bat. September until May), there might also be higher predation
We are currently investigating whether there is some pressure or more competition with other bat species. Siberia
feature of cultured fibroblasts that might be informative could be viewed as ‘‘safe island’’ compared with central
about the long lives of bats. Fibroblasts isolated from the Europe, where animals could live longer if the cold winter
skin of M. lucifugus experience less DNA damage when could be tolerated. Unfortunately, only old data for the
exposed to a range of c-irradiation doses than do similar longevity records of M. brandtii in the Leningrad region
cells from mice (Figure 3). M. lucifugus fibroblasts also ap- are available.
pear to repair DNA damage more quickly (A. J. P., S. N. A., We hope that this report will stimulate interest among
unpublished data, 2005). biogerontologists to consider bats seriously as study
Although it is premature to claim at this point that organisms in a comparative approach to aging research.
either reduced oxidative damage or stress-resistant DNA is
‘‘why’’ M. lucifugus live up to 34 years in the wild, these
findings are provocative. Little is known of basic biology
of bat cells. Our results at least suggest that bats might
have exceptional defense mechanisms against cellular
damage.
M. brandtii might also be fascinating for understanding
the interaction of genes and environment in aging, as other
populations of the same species are apparently much
shorter-lived. For instance, in the Leningrad region of
Russia, M. brandtii is not apparently long-lived, possibly
due to a different ecological history. Near St. Petersburg,
Russia, M. brandtii is reported to live no more than 8.5
years (7). Moreover, during 50 years of research in the
Baltic region, Masing and colleagues (8) reported that maxi-
mum life span of M. brandtii in the region never exceeded

Table 1. Number of Survivors (All Males) to at Least the Age
Indicated From 1544 Bats (of Both Sexes) Originally Banded
Age 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 33 38 39 41
No. alive 67 56 54 42 41 34 25 19 5 4 4 3 2 2 1
Note: Modified from (3).
Figure 2. Longevity of bats compared with other mammal species. Note that
some bat species do not seem excessively long-lived for their body size relative
to other mammals. However, most longevity records for bats were accidentally
acquired rather than systematically gathered. Therefore, record longevities in
some species may be nonrepresentative because very small numbers of
individuals have been marked and monitored. Arrow points to data point for
Myotis brandtii.
1368 PODLUTSKY ET AL.
Figure 3. Greater resistance to DNA damage in the little brown bat, Myotis
lucifugus, compared with a laboratory mouse. DNA damage was measured with
alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis technique–comet assay. This assay
measures strand breaks and abasic sites. Tail moment is a measure of total DNA
damage. Two hundred cells were analyzed for each data point. VisCOMET
software (Impuls GmbH, Gilching, Germany) was used in analysis. Median values
are presented because the distribution of individual cell values is not normally
distributed. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium with 10%
fetal bovine serum, streptomycin, and penicillin, in 5% CO2 and 3% O2 at 378C.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was partially supported by U.S. Public Health Service grant
AG-022873 from the National Institute on Aging.
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Address correspondence to Steven Austad, PhD, University of Texas
Health Science Center, Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Study,
STCBM Building, Suite 3.325, 15355 Lambda Drive, San Antonio, TX
78245-3207. E-mail: AUSTAD@uthscsa.edu
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Received June 20, 2005
Accepted June 27, 2005
Decision Editor: James R. Smith, PhD