For something a little bit new………..
The Naked Mole Rat
Taxonomic Name
Kingdom-- Animalia
Phylum-- Chordata
Subphylum-- Vertebrata
Class-- Mammalia
Order-- Rodentia
Family-- Bathyergidae
Genus-- Heterocephalus
Species-- Glaber
Scientific Name: Heterocephalus glaber
Mammals are a type of vertebrate animals that are distinguished from birds and reptiles by being warm-blooded and milking their young. They have hair, mammary glands, and a brain that is tasked with monitoring the circulatory system. There are three types of mammals; placentals, monotremes, and marsupials. The majority of mammals are placentals, or animals that give live birth. Marsupials are mammals that carry their quickly developed young in a pouch. Lastly, Monotremes are a rare type of mammal that lays eggs. All mammal have seven bones in the neck (cervical vertebrae) except for a few exceptions. The lungs of mammals are spongy and honeycombed, resulting in an internal surface area that is larger than the outer surface area. Like all animals mammals intake oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Mammals control their lungs by using a muscular diaphragm that divides their thorax from the abdominal cavity. It expands to inhale a large quantity of air and detracts to release the unused gasses (the building of pressure caused by the detraction releases the air quickly and forcefully). The integumentary of a mammal is made of three layers called the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Each layer has a designated job such as (respectively) keeping water out, creating layers of growth, and providing cushioning. Though mammals share fur, feathers, and skin to other creatures, hair is unique to mammals alone. The mammal also has a unique area of the brain called the neocortex. It regulates body temperature and circulation. The size of a neocortex depends on the type of mammal it happens to be (placental, marsupial, and monotremal).
The naked mole rat (or the Heterocephalus glaber) is a mammal of the order rodentia. It is unique amongst its order just as it is unique amongst all animals. Rodentia is the largest order of mammals. The order is characterized mainly by its unique dentition. Nearly all rodents have a highly specialized jaw made to gnaw. Rodents gnaw to regulate the size of their growing incisors. Each individual tooth is covered with enamel while the interior is made entirely out of dentine. When they gnaw the enamel is sharpened into a sharp chisel-like point. Rodents lack canine teeth and instead have incisors. These incisors have multiple uses depending on the animal. For example, some have teeth used to cut wood, eat fruit, capture prey, defense, and, in the case of the naked mole rat, digging. Most rodents are relatively small compared to other mammals, but some can be as large as 91k. Rodents are important to a natural ecosystem. They eat plants and sometimes pesky bugs, and due to their rapid reproduction, often are a valuable food source. Species such as Heterocephalus glaber are considered unique amongst mammals and are important as test subjects for humans.
The naked mole rat (or Heterocephalus glaber) is a small rodent that lives mainly in Uganda and Tanzania, though the current range reaches countries all the way in east Africa such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. The Naked mole rat lives in subterranean tunnels that can stretch for miles under the surface of savannahs and grasslands. These tunnels are usually about two meters deep and are found in elevations between 1100 and 3000 meters.
Naked mole rats have a skin with a brownish pink hue. The young of the naked mole rat usually have dark spots, they usually fade away as they reach maturity. All naked mole rats are the same size (ranging between 147 and 165mm and having a weight between 30 to 80 g) with the queen and her mating males being the biggest in the colony. They live predominantly underground and have smaller eyes compared to other rodents. On these eyes they have thick eyelids that shut out light. They have small hairs that cover their body. These hair help them detect touch. Due to the darkness of their habitat, naked mole rats rely heavily on these other senses.
Naked mole rats have typical rodent-like teeth with the exception of their protruding front teeth. They infact grow on the outside of the mouth like tusks rather than in the mouth like other teeth. They are used to dig and carry rather than gnaw or chew. When digging, naked mole rats can close their lips so they don’t swallow dirt.
Naked mole rats have small stubby legs that can travel quickly in their small tunnels. Dominant males pass on the top while less dominant males must go on the bottom. They have loose skin that helps them slide over and under each other.
Naked mole rats are eusocial animals where there is one ruling queen and her chosen mates (polyandrous), Sexual activity is limited between her and her favorite males. In most colonies, there is one queen that mates with 1-3 favorite males, but in some instances there has been known to be two queens. The males chosen by the queen tend to be older more experienced colony members. Other non-mating members of the colony serve as workers, care-takers, protectors and are all genetically similar due to the rarity of outbreeding. When it is breeding season in the colony, many good natured mole rats get a bad streak. Aggression in the forms of biting and shoving are displayed during this time of tension. The queen herself gets highly aggressive, and even executes competing females. During breeding season, queens often change (as well as their males). This happens when a queen dies, or a new queen comes to power. A new queen goes through physical changes. Her vertebrae extends which allows for an easier passing of pups. The queen is pregnant for 70 days and gives birth to about 7 pups (weighing in at a measly 2 g). The pups are weaned in 36 days and are full grown in a year (for females the growing is only 228 days). The queen is constantly pregnant and can can give 5 litters every year. Therefore she can rarely take care of her pups after weaning age. Non-breeders are tasked with caring for them after that.
Naked mole rats live nine times longer than other species of rodents, and have been known to reach 30 years of age in the wild. In most cases, captive naked mole rats live between 22 and 31 years (with 28 being the average). Though uncommon, factors limiting mole rat lifespan include, toxic chemicals, droughts, floods, and predation. Naked mole rats feed on plants such as roots, bulbs, and tubers, plants that can be accessed through their subterranean tunnels. When the naked mole rats find food, they often leave part of it there so it can regrow. The other part is taken into a storage area where it can feed a colony for up to a week. Due to moist impassable soil, stored food can save a colony from quick starvation.
