Naked mole-rat

The naked mole-rat lives in dark tunnels.

It has pink skin and very little hair. It uses big teeth to dig in the dirt. Its lips stay shut behind its teeth. This keeps soil out of its mouth.

These animals live in big groups. One female is the queen. Other members work to help the group. They even help care for the babies.

They can live a very long time. They also do not feel pain on their skin.

These small animals are very special.

The naked mole-rat is a very special rodent. It lives in dark tunnels in East Africa.

These animals live in large groups. They use a way of living called eusociality. This means they have a strict social structure. One female is the queen. She is the only female that has babies. One to three males also breed. The rest of the group are workers. Some workers find food. Larger workers dig tunnels. They all work together to care for the pups.

Naked mole-rats have pink, wrinkled skin. They have very little hair. They use large teeth to dig. Their lips stay shut behind their teeth. This keeps dirt out of their mouths.

These rodents can live a long time. They can live over 37 years. They are also very good at fighting cancer. They have a special sugary substance in their bodies. This substance is called HMW-HA. It is much larger than the same substance in humans. This helps stop cells from growing out of control.

They can even live with very little oxygen. They can stay active even when oxygen is low. This helps them survive in deep tunnels.

The naked mole-rat is a very unusual rodent. It lives in the dry grasslands of East Africa. You can find them in places like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

These animals are famous for their strange way of living. They use a social system called eusociality. This means they live in groups with very specific jobs. One female is the queen, and she is the only female that has babies. Only one to three males breed as well. The rest of the colony members are workers who help the group.

Living underground requires special tools and skills. Naked mole-rats have small eyes and poor eyesight. They use their large, protruding teeth to dig through the soil. Their lips stay sealed behind their teeth to keep dirt out of their mouths. About one quarter of their muscle power goes into closing their jaws for digging. They have pink, wrinkled skin with almost no hair. Their thin legs help them move through tunnels. They can even move backward as fast as they move forward.

Scientists have learned many amazing things about these creatures. In 2013, the journal Science named them "Vertebrate of the Year." This was because of their incredible health and long lives. Researchers at the University of Rochester found out how they stay healthy. They discovered a sugary substance called HMW-HA in their bodies. This substance is five times larger than the same one in humans. This helps prevent cancer by stopping cells from growing out of control.

Naked mole-rats are masters of survival in low oxygen. Their tunnels often have very little air. They have underdeveloped lungs and special blood to help them. Their breathing and energy use are much slower than a mouse. A naked mole-rat can survive for five hours in air with only 5% oxygen. They can even live for 18 minutes with no oxygen at all. During this time, their heart rate drops from 200 to 50 beats per minute. They use a special way to make energy called anaerobic glycolysis.

These rodents also live much longer than other rodents. They can live for more than 37 years. This is much longer than the African porcupine, which lives 28 years. They stay healthy because they have great DNA repair. Their bodies are very good at fixing damage to their cells. They also do not regulate their body temperature like most mammals do. Instead, they are thermoconformers. This means their body temperature changes to match the air around them. They huddle together to stay warm or move to cool tunnels to stay chilled.

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a unique rodent found in East Africa. They live in the dry grasslands of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

These animals are famous for their unusual biology and social behavior. They are the first mammal ever discovered to be eusocial. This means they live in complex groups with specific roles. Their social structure is very similar to insects like ants or bees. This system allows them to thrive in harsh underground environments.

A naked mole-rat colony is divided into different castes. One female acts as the queen and is the only female that breeds. She is often larger than the other females in the group. There are also one to three breeding males. The rest of the colony members are workers. These workers do not reproduce, but they help the group survive. Smaller workers focus on gathering food and maintaining the nest. Larger workers act as tunnelers and react quickly to threats.

The workers also cooperate to care for the queen's pups.

Living underground requires specialized physical adaptations. Naked mole-rats have very small eyes and poor visual acuity. They use large, protruding teeth to dig through the soil. Their lips are actually sealed behind these teeth. This prevents dirt from filling their mouths while they work. About 25 percent of their musculature is used just to close their jaws. Their skin is pink or yellowish and lacks an insulating layer of hair. Their thin legs allow them to move through tunnels easily. They can even move backward as fast as they move forward.

These rodents are masters of surviving in low-oxygen environments. Their underground tunnels often have very little air. To handle this, they have underdeveloped lungs and specialized hemoglobin. Their hemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen, which makes oxygen uptake more efficient. They also have a very low metabolic and respiratory rate. Their metabolic rate is about 70 percent that of a mouse. If they go a long time without food, they can reduce this rate by 25 percent. In air with only 5 percent oxygen, they can survive for five hours. They can even survive for 18 minutes in a zero-oxygen atmosphere. During this time, their heart rate drops from 200 to 50 beats per minute.

Naked mole-rats also handle temperature differently than most mammals. Most mammals are thermoregulators that keep a steady internal temperature. Naked mole-rats are thermoconformers. This means their body temperature tracks the temperature of the air around them. They use behavioral thermoregulation to stay comfortable. If they are too cold, they huddle together for warmth. They may also move to shallow parts of the burrow that are warmed by the sun. If they get too hot, they retreat to deeper, cooler parts of the tunnels.

One of their most amazing traits is their resistance to cancer. In 2013, the journal Science named them "Vertebrate of the Year" for this reason. Researchers found they have a special gene called p16. This gene helps with contact inhibition, which stops cells from dividing too much. They also have a sugary substance called HMW-HA. This substance is five times larger than the same substance in humans. This acts as a barrier to uncontrolled cell growth. Furthermore, their ribosomes produce extremely error-free proteins. These features create a double barrier against the development of tumors.

Naked mole-rats are also incredibly long-lived for rodents. They can live for more than 37 years. This is much longer than the African porcupine, which lives about 28 years. Their mortality rate does not increase with age like most mammals. This is partly because they have excellent DNA repair capabilities. Scientists found that they express DNA repair genes at higher levels than mice. They also have high levels of genes related to mitochondria and oxidation reduction. These biological tools help them maintain health and prevent aging-induced damage over many decades.