Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber)
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Bathyergidae |
| Genus | Heterocephalus (1) |
- The life-history of naked mole rats is astonishingly similar to social insects, with a dominant queen, populating the colony with son and daughter slaves
- Naked mole rats can’t control their body temperature internally like other mammals. When cold, they bask underground in chambers close to the surface and when hot, they retreat to lower, cooler areas of the burrow
- Naked mole rats front teeth protude through their lips so they can dig without filling their mouth with soil
- Naked mole rats have well developed eyes, but their brain has lost the ability to process what they see, leaving them functionally blind
- It is thought that naked mole rats may be unable to feel pain, and none have ever been recorded with cancer.
Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Information on the naked mole rat is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
-
IUCN Red List (October, 2009)
http://www.iucnredlist.org/