Well, I do have to agree that pre-D&D fantasy and lore are a LOT more diverse and interesting than what came after. That said, a part of the "diverse" part of that is the fact there wasn't a whole lot of agreement on what the characteristics of a given race were.
I mean, pre-Tolkein, there was a lot of disagreement as to whether elves were tall or short (think Santa's elves,) how long they lived, and whether or not they were the same thing as fairies.
Post-Tolkein, we've streamlined on the physical characteristics somewhat, but life expectancy still varies quite wildly with about the only consistent thing being that for an Elf, age 100 is the same as a human teenager. Although, where exactly in the teens does still vary somewhat, ranging from 12 to 18.
