The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and the only species currently classified in the genus Heterocephalus. It was once thought to be one of only two eusocial mammals (the other being the Damaraland mole rat) but this classification is controversial owing to disputed definitions of 'eusociality' as well as the existence of other mammals that satisfy the original definition of Wilson (1971). It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enables it to thrive in an otherwise harsh, underground environment, including being the only mammalian thermoconformer, a lack of pain sensation in its skin and a very low metabolism.
Read more about Naked Mole Rat: Description, Physiology, Longevity, Resistance To Cancer, Conservation Status, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words mole and/or rat:
“On her left breast
A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops
I’ th’ bottom of a cowslip.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
Musing upon the king my brother’s wreck
And on the king my father’s death before him.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)