Living Fast and Dying Young

In the grand scheme of things, tetrapods tend to live longer and reproduce slower than their fellow land-dwellers the insects. But a study appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this summer describing a small Madagascarian chameleon with a mayfly-like lifespan. Mayflies, of course, are those ephemeral insects that live only a few hours as adults. But it’s important to remember that the adult stage is only a small part of the entire life of a mayfly: they spend quite a while as juveniles (up to a year in some species) before they mature, mate, and die all in a day. The lizard, Furcifer labordi, has clearly taken a page from the mayfly book: they spend eight to nine months as embryos inside their eggs. When the hatchlings emerge at the start of the wet season in November, they grow like crazy, reaching maturity by the end of December and mating by early January. Females lay their eggs in February, and the entire adult population is dead by the end of March. For those of you counting, that’s 9 months of development, and 3 months of scratching and fighting before dying. Not one reaches the ripe old age of two.

Reference:
Karsten, K. B. et al. 2008. A unique life history among tetrapods: An annual chameleon living mostly as an egg. PNAS 105: 8980-8984.

Comments

[Brine Queen]

I saw a talk about this study at a meeting last year. I thought it was cool then and I am glad it finally made it to press. I'll have to pick up a copy of the paper.

[Kelly]

I am so naming my next dog Furcifer labordi (most especially if I get another Lab)