Shortest life span for a vertebrate

The animal that has the shortest lifespan of all vertebrates is the seven-figure pygmy goby, aka adorned dwarf goby (Eviota sigillata), which survives to a maximum of 59 days. In 2005, researchers at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia, were able to establish their age by studying the ear stones of 300 of the pygmy gobies, which collect daily rings.

The researchers also established that the larvae spend three weeks in the open ocean before settling on the reef, leaving just three weeks for the adult pygmy gobies to reproduce.