The Naked mole-rat is a rodent native to the Horn of Africa and parts of Kenya. It is closely related to blesmols and is the only species in the genus Heterocephalus. The rat is eusocial and has a high body temperature tolerance.
Rodent
The Naked mole-rat is a species of rat native to the Horn of Africa and parts of Kenya. It is closely related to the blesmol rat and is the sole member of the Heterocephalus genus. This is a highly vulnerable species that must be protected.
The Naked mole-rat is a social rodent with members who have specific roles. The queen leads the colony and mates with a limited number of males. The other members of the colony perform different roles such as scouting for food, digging new tunnels, and caring for the queen and her pups.
Eusocial
This study provides the first experimental evidence that the two species of Eusocial mole-rat differ in their levels of immediate oxidative stress. Since both species exhibit distinct physiological and reproductive strategies, divergent mechanisms are likely to exist for coping with the oxidative costs of reproduction. Future studies should investigate whether these differences are also associated with markers of long-term oxidative damage.
These two species are similar in some aspects, though the differences are not significant. Females of NMRs have larger litters and more litters per year, both of which contribute to increased oxidative stress. However, there are several factors that prevent direct comparisons between these two species, which makes it difficult to draw any firm conclusions. Furthermore, the species of Social African mole-rats, Cryptomys and Fukomys, are less studied and are therefore not relevant for these comparisons.
Euthermia
The naked mole-rat has remarkable longevity, with minimal decline in its biochemical and physiological functions during aging. This remarkable longevity is attributed to the maintenance of homeostasis, which protects the organism from intrinsic mortality as well as environmental challenges and disruptions. To understand the physiological changes that lead to Euthermia in this species, we must first understand how this animal adapts to prolonged hypoxia.
The lipid super-pathway in mice and naked mole-rats is enriched with species-specific metabolites. These lipids include several fatty acids and are critical for bile metabolism. Young mice have an increased lysophospholipid profile.
Body temperature tolerance
The body temperature tolerance of the naked mole-rat is surprisingly high for a rat. Its high-thermal tolerance allows it to survive in a wide variety of environments. This species of rat is social, very long-lived, and heterothermic, meaning that it absorbs the temperature of its surroundings. It is also extraordinarily resistant to cancer and is insensitive to some forms of pain, including capsaicin and acid. It is also extremely tolerant to oxygen deprivation.
The naked mole-rat also has high affinity hemoglobin and a low resting metabolic rate. As a result, it is more resistant to hypoxia and anoxia than mice. Moreover, it has a mutation in the voltage gated sodium channel, which eliminates neuronal responses to tissue acidosis. In humans, high carbon dioxide produces pulmonary edema and pain.
Sharing of food
The sharing of food between naked mole-rats in a colony is often observed in nature. It is thought that this behavior is a sign of social bonding between the individuals of a colony. However, there is little information on how this behavior is learned. The following study was conducted to explore this question.
The naked mole-rat is a small, saber-toothed rodent. It weighs between 23 and 101.0 grams and ranges in age from 0.39 to 6.68 years. In the study, naked mole-rats were members of breeding colonies. The status of the queens varied between colonies.
Nursing
If you’re interested in the life cycle of a mole-rat, you might wonder how a nursing mole-rat gives birth. The gestation period for the mole-rat is approximately 70 to 90 days. During this time, the queen tends to the pups in the nursery. The pups start exploring their tunnels a few weeks later. Within a year, they are ready to join the workforce and take their place among the other workers.
The average number of pups in a mole-rat litter is around twelve, and breeding females may produce up to 28 pups. These numbers are much larger than in other mammal species, which usually have four to five pups per litter.
