Mammals · Rodentia · Bathyergidae

Naked Mole Rat

Heterocephalus glaber

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The naked mole-rat is one of the strangest mammals on the planet. It lives underground in colonies of dozens or hundreds of animals organised like those of ants or termites: a single breeding female, the queen, mates with a few males, while the rest of the colony digs, searches for tubers and defends the nest without breeding. It is almost blind, practically hairless, and does not regulate its body temperature as other mammals do. It digs with its incisors, which it can move independently like chopsticks.

Weight

29 g – 39 g

Size

8 cm – 10 cm

Lifespan

30 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Crepuscular

Active above all at dawn and dusk.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertGrasslandHerbivore Crepuscular Variable activity Colonial Desert Grassland Mammal

3countries 8parks

Fun facts

fisiologíaIt is all but immune to cancer and shows barely any sign of ageing, and it is one of the few mammals with a eusocial organisation, like a bee's.
It is one of only two known eusocial mammals, along with the Damaraland mole-rat: a breeding queen and a caste of sterile workers, an arrangement once thought unique to insects.
It lives up to thirty years, about ten times as long as a rodent of its size, hardly ever develops cancer and is insensitive to certain kinds of pain, which has made it a star model in ageing research.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Underground tunnels in arid and semi-arid soils of the Horn of Africa
Sexual maturity: 7.5 months
Gestation / incubation: 2.3 months
Litter / clutch size: 7

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterocephalus_glaber