Latest update January 13th, 2025 3:10 AM
Latest News
- Oil deal requires Govt. to formally write Exxon to request renegotiation – Dr. Adams
- Govt. eyeing another US$1.5B loan from US EXIM Bank
- Israeli siege of north Gaza leaves 5,000 dead, missing after 100 days
- More traffic cops using bodycams after Hicken’s warning
- Second terminal for CJIA on govt’s 2025 agenda
The Naked Mole Rat
Waterfalls Magazine – According to National Geographic, there are many different kinds of mole rats. However, the best known of them all is probably the naked mole rat.
Naked Mole Rat
This creature’s hairless, tubular, wrinkled body makes it appear a bit like a tiny walrus—or perhaps a bratwurst with teeth.
Naked mole rats are rodents, but they live in communities like those of many insects, National Geographic noted. Several dozen rats live together in colonies led by one dominant rat—the queen. As in some insect species, it was noted that the queen is the only naked mole rat female to breed and bear young.
Worker animals dig the burrows that the whole clan inhabits, using their prominent teeth and snouts. They also gather the roots and bulbs for the colony to eat. Other rats tend to the queen.
Researchers have found that the rodent is native to the Horn of Africa and parts of Kenya, notably in Somali regions. It is closely related to the blesmols and is the only species in the genus Heterocephalus.
Typical individual rats are 3 to 4 inches long and weigh 30 to 35 grams . Queens are larger and may weigh well over 50 grams , the largest reaching 80 grams.
They are well adapted to their underground existence. Their eyes are quite small, and their visual acuity is poor. Their legs are thin and short; however, they are highly adept at moving underground and can move backward as fast as they can move forward. Their large, protruding teeth are used to dig and their lips are sealed just behind the teeth, preventing soil from filling their mouths while digging.
Naked mole rats are primarily preyed upon by snakes—especially the Rufous beaked snake and Kenyan sand boa—as well as various raptors.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Social media reporting is a double-edged sword
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Social media has undoubtedly changed how we share and receive information. It has made... more
Clarifying misconceptions about the Panama Canal
Sir Ronald Sanders (Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS) By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News–... more
Weekend Cartoon
