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Damaraland Mole Rat — printable fact sheet
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Damaraland Mole Rat
Fukomys damarensis
Fukomys damarensis is one of only two mammals generally accepted as eusocial, the other being the naked mole-rat, but its social system works on a completely different principle. A colony of a dozen to forty furred, sausage-shaped rodents lives in sealed tunnels beneath the Kala…
Did you know?
- Unlike most mammals, Damaraland Mole Rats exhibit a strict division of labor, with only one reproductive female (the queen) in each colony.
- Damaraland mole-rats tolerate carbon dioxide levels and low oxygen that would incapacitate a surface rodent, an inevitable consequence of living in a sealed, crowded burrow. They almost never drink; all their water comes from the tubers they eat, and they will hollow out a large tuber from inside while leaving the skin intact so it keeps growing. Colonies communicate by drumming their hind feet against the tunnel floor, sending vibrations along the burrow. Unlike the naked mole-rat they are properly furred, with a white blaze on the head, and they are considerably larger.
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