The earth is a strange place with a diverse range of species. The species on this planet are not only diverse in their appearance but also their lifespan and eating habits. When we hear of the lifespan of creatures like whales and tortoises we think that nature is very unkind to us in terms of lifespan. Earlier, we told you about the animals that have the longest lifespan. To balance it out, we will tell you about the animals that have the shortest lifespan on the planet. There are many factors that play a key role in deciding the lifespan of an individual species.
The factors that decide how long an individual creature lives depends on the metabolism, brain to body ratio, environment, eating habits and climatic conditions. You’ll be surprised to know that there are creatures with lifespans as little as 1 month to just a day. Let’s see the animals with the shortest lifespan.
- Mosquitofish: Mosquitofish is a freshwater fish species that are mainly found in the United States. The mosquitofish has a short lifespan of just 2 years. However, females are known to live longer than males. Those who live in captivity have been found to live a little longer than those living in saline water. The average lifespan of mosquitofish is still just 2 years. Despite a shorter lifespan, saline water is better for the species as not all fishes can survive there and it prevents the mosquitofish from getting hunted.
- Chameleon: The colour-changing animal never fails to amaze. Panther chameleons have the shortest lifespan among reptiles and they live for just a year. Panther chameleons are mainly found in Northern and Eastern parts of Madagascar. Due to their short lifespan, panther chameleons start mating at a very early age. They live so less that the adult population is entirely wiped out even before the new generation steps their feet on the earth.
- Mouse: Just like the panther chameleons, the common mouse found in houses also lives very less. House mouse just lives for a year. In most of the cases, they live even less than a year as they are either hunted by cats, snakes or die due to rat-killing poison. They also die of several diseases they contract with growing age. They breed very quickly too.
- DragonFly: Next time you see a dragonfly, don’t tie it with a thread and play with it like it’s a prop. It’s because they have just 4 months to spend on the planet. There are more than 5000 dragonfly species across the globe. You can see them in large numbers during the rainy season. In most of the cases, they don’t even get to live for 4 months as they are eaten by spiders, birds, lizards and frogs. Extreme climate conditions can also impact their existence.
- Houseflies: The irritating flying insect that sits on almost anything you eat or irritate you while doing daily chores gets to live for just 4 months. If you are wondering why these flies enter your houses, it is because household conditions are more favourable for them in comparison to the wild environment. In a short lifespan of just 4 months, houseflies lay up to 1000 eggs. This is why there is an abundance of flies to irritate you despite the shorter lifespan.
- Drone Ants: Drone ants are the male members of the ant family. Females have a longer lifespan in general and this statistics is followed in ants as well. Drone ants have a lifespan of just 3 weeks. They are generally lazy in nature and sit idle most of the time. This is the reason that ant colonies are established by the females. The drone ants pass away shortly after mating with the females. Thus, the only task they do in their lifetime is increasing their population.
- Gastrotrichs: If you think a lifespan of months is short welcome to the world of stranger things. Well, there are creatures that get to live for just a few days. Gastrotrichs are marine microorganisms that are up to 3 millimetres in length. They get to live for just 3 days. They have a transparent body which they attach to the water bodies using the adhesive tubes that they have on the lower part of their bodies. Strangely, they possess both male and female organs for reproduction.
- Mayflies: Mayflies are the creatures with the shortest lifespan in the world. They are known as ‘one-day insects’ as they get to live just for 24 hours. There are more than 2500 species of mayflies in the world. While the mayflies generally live for 24 hours, many of them die just a few hours after their birth. For a majority of their lifetime, they live as nymphs. The only task they do in their entire life is reproduction.
