African Mole Rats

This volume, first published in 2000, explores the range of social systems in this fascinating group to understand how complex social systems evolved.

Welcome to the world of the naked mole rat! Many readers may never have heard of this nocturnal creature. As a burrowing, eusocial mammal, the naked mole rat spends its time in the dry lands of eastern Africa. A chapter on the naked mole rat's body discusses its size, appearance, and special features, including its nearly hairless body, tiny ears and eyes, wrinkly, loose skin, and huge incisors. Other chapters cover its diet, life cycle, and habitat, including a map. The naked mole rat's colony organization, including the queen, soldiers, and workers, is also explained. Predators are introduced, along with threats to the naked mole rat's environment and conservation efforts that are in place. Every book in the Nocturnal Animals series includes sidebars on scientific classification, the special features of the nocturnal eye, and the difference between nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular animals. Full-color photographs will draw in the reader while showing off the naked mole rat's unique characteristics. Glossary words in bold, phonetic spellings, and an index supplement this easy-to-read text. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

Describes this strange-looking rodent which lives a social life in a system of tunnels under the brick-hard soil of East Africa.

This volume focuses on the huge advances in the last 25 years on the use of this animal model for biomedical research (cancer, heart disease and neurodegeneration), fundamental neuroscience and basic subterranean biology. In 2013, Science magazine named the naked mole-rat as the Vertebrate of the Year. This was partly due to research carried out documenting its extreme longevity, negligible senescence, and prolonged maintenance of cancer free, good health well into old age as well as seminal work on mechanisms involved in these processes, pain and hypoxia resistance. In addition to this research focus on longevity and chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the naked mole-rat has also made a substantial contribution to the fields of ecophysiology, neuroscience and behavior. With international contributions, this book provides a valuable text for zoological students, behavioral scientists and biomedical researchers.

This volume brings together more than a decade of information collected in the field and lab on the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), a northeast African mammal unique for its physical characteristics and eusociality. Nearly blind and virtually hairless, naked mole-rats inhabit large subterranean colonies in which only one female and her one to three mates conceive offspring, while the young from previous litters maintain and defend the group as do workers in colonies of the social insects. In this first major treatise on naked mole-rats an international group of researchers covers such topics as the evolution of eusociality, phylogeny and systematics of the rodent family Bathyergidae, population and behavioral ecology and genetics of naked mole-rats in the field, vocal and nonvocal behaviors, social organization and divisions of labor within colonies, and climatic, social, and physiological factors affecting growth, reproduction, and reproductive suppression. In addition to the editors, the contributors are D. H. Abbott, M. W. Allard, N. C. Bennett, R. A. Brett, S. H. Braude, B. Crespi, S. V. Edwards, C. G. Faulkes, L. M. George, R. L. Honeycutt, E. A. Lacey, C. E. Liddell, E. McDaid, K. Nelson, K. M. Noonan, J. O'Riain, J. W. Pepper, H. K. Reeve, and D. A. Schlitter. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Subterranean Rodents presents achievements from recent years of research on these rodents, divided into five sections: ecophysiology; sensory ecology; life histories, behavioural ecology and demography; environmental and economical impact; molecular ecology and evolution. It is a must for all researchers working in this field and will be of interest to zoologists, physiologists, morphologists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists.

Introduces readers to naked mole rats, with an emphasis on the animal's habitat, adaptations, and life cycle. Vivid photographs and easy-to-read text aid comprehension for young readers. Features include a table of contents, an infographic, fun facts, Making Connections questions, a glossary, and an index. QR Codes in the book give readers access to book-specific resources to further their learning. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. DiscoverRoo is an imprint of Pop!, a division of ABDO.