Have you ever heard of a mammal that lives like an insect, stays cool like a reptile, and processes energy like a plant? Meet the naked mole rat! These fascinating creatures might not win any beauty contests with their bald skin and big teeth, but they are truly extraordinary. They can live up to 30 years, and over millions of years, they’ve developed some amazing traits to survive in tough environments, especially where oxygen is scarce.
Naked mole rats make their homes in the deserts of East Africa, where they feast on root vegetables. They use their unique teeth, which can move separately like chopsticks, to dig for these roots. However, finding enough food alone is nearly impossible because the roots are spread out over large areas. That’s why naked mole rats live in large colonies, similar to ants, bees, and termites. These colonies can have up to 300 members and include intricate underground tunnels, nest chambers, and even community bathrooms.
Within these colonies, naked mole rats have a strict social order. The queen, the dominant female, is the only one who has babies, along with two or three males she selects. The rest of the colony consists of soldiers, who protect the group, and workers, who search for food. The workers gather roots to feed everyone in the colony.
Living in such crowded underground spaces means oxygen can run out quickly. Most mammals need a lot of oxygen for energy to keep their bodies warm and their hearts beating. However, naked mole rats have adapted to survive with very little oxygen. They don’t regulate their body temperature like most mammals. Instead, their body temperature changes with the environment, making them cold-blooded like reptiles. They also have a special type of hemoglobin in their blood that is very efficient at capturing oxygen, even when it’s scarce.
When oxygen levels drop too low, naked mole rats can enter a state called suspended animation. They stop moving, breathe slowly, and reduce their heart rate, which cuts down on their oxygen needs. During this time, they switch to using fructose, a type of sugar, for energy. Unlike glucose, which most mammals use and requires oxygen, fructose can be used without oxygen. Naked mole rats are the only mammals known to have this ability.
While humans probably won’t need to live in underground tunnels, we can learn a lot from naked mole rats. In medical emergencies like heart attacks, people often suffer from a lack of oxygen. If we could mimic the naked mole rat’s ability to use fructose for energy, it might help save lives. It took millions of years for these little mammals to develop their unique traits, but with enough research, we might be able to apply some of their incredible adaptations to human health.
Using materials like cardboard, clay, and paint, design a model of a naked mole rat colony. Include tunnels, nest chambers, and community areas. Think about how the structure supports their social living and survival in the desert. Present your model to the class and explain how each part of the habitat helps the naked mole rats thrive.
In groups, assign roles such as the queen, soldiers, and workers. Act out a day in the life of a naked mole rat colony. Consider how each role contributes to the colony’s success and survival. Discuss how the social structure is similar to or different from other animal societies you know.
Conduct an experiment to understand how oxygen levels affect living organisms. Use yeast and sugar in sealed containers to observe how different oxygen levels impact activity. Relate your findings to how naked mole rats survive with low oxygen and discuss the implications for human health.
Research another animal with unique adaptations for survival. Create a presentation comparing its adaptations to those of the naked mole rat. Highlight how these adaptations help each animal thrive in its environment and what humans might learn from them.
Write a short story from the perspective of a naked mole rat. Describe a typical day, focusing on their unique behaviors and adaptations. Use your imagination to bring the underground world to life and share your story with the class.
What mammal has the social life of an insect, the cold-bloodedness of a reptile, and the metabolism of a plant? Bald and buck-toothed, naked mole rats may not be pretty, but they’re extraordinary. With a lifespan of 30 years, their peculiar traits have evolved over millions of years to make them uniquely suited to survive harsh conditions, especially long periods without oxygen.
In the deserts of East Africa, naked mole rats feed on root vegetables. They dig for the roots with teeth that can move independently, similar to chopsticks. However, a single naked mole rat doesn’t stand a chance of finding enough food; the roots are large and nutritious but scattered far and wide. A large workforce has a much better chance, so naked mole rats live in colonies. Similar to ants, bees, and termites, they build giant nests that can house up to 300 mole rats. These colonies feature complex underground tunnel systems, nest chambers, and community bathrooms.
Naked mole rats also have a rigid social structure. The dominant female, known as the queen, and two to three males that she chooses are the only naked mole rats in the colony who have babies. All the other naked mole rats, male and female, are either soldiers, who defend the colony from possible invaders, or workers. Teams of workers are dispatched to hunt for roots, and their harvest feeds the whole colony.
Living in a colony helps naked mole rats find enough food, but when so many animals live in the same underground space, oxygen quickly runs out. Mammals need a lot of oxygen; we use it to generate the energy that fuels everything from maintaining our body temperatures to our heartbeat to voluntary movements. Without oxygen, we quickly die. In fact, no other mammal could survive the oxygen depletion experienced in a naked mole rat colony.
Naked mole rats can thrive in low oxygen in part because they’ve abandoned one of the body functions that requires the most oxygen: thermoregulation. Most mammals are warm-blooded, meaning they have to keep their body temperature consistent. Naked mole rats don’t get enough oxygen to do this. Instead, they’re the only mammals whose body temperature fluctuates with their environment, making them cold-blooded, like reptiles. They also have a special type of hemoglobin, the molecule in the blood that transports oxygen. Their hemoglobin is much stickier for oxygen than ours and can pick up oxygen even when it’s scarce.
In response to a real oxygen emergency, naked mole rats enter a state of suspended animation. They stop moving, slow their breathing, and dramatically lower their heart rate. This greatly reduces the amount of energy, and therefore oxygen, they need. At the same time, they begin to metabolize fructose, like a plant. Fructose is a sugar that can be used to make energy without burning oxygen. Usually, mammals metabolize a different sugar called glucose that makes more energy than fructose, but glucose only works when oxygen is available. Human brain and heart cells have some cellular machinery to use fructose, but not nearly as much as naked mole rats. Naked mole rats are, in fact, the only mammals known to have this ability.
While we can hope humans won’t ever need to exclusively live in underground tunnels, there are many situations where we would benefit from needing less oxygen. During heart attacks and other medical emergencies, people often die or sustain debilitating organ damage from oxygen deprivation. Could we replicate the naked mole rat’s use of the fructose pathway for human health? It took millions of years of evolution to bring together the behavior of an insect, the temperature regulation of a reptile, and the energy production of a plant in one little mammal, but maybe, with enough study, we can replicate just a few of their remarkable adaptations.
Naked Mole Rat – A small, burrowing rodent known for its lack of fur and unique social behavior. – Naked mole rats live in underground colonies where they work together to find food and care for their young.
Mammals – A class of warm-blooded animals that have hair or fur and whose females produce milk to feed their young. – Humans, dogs, and whales are all examples of mammals.
Oxygen – A chemical element that is essential for respiration in most living organisms. – Plants release oxygen into the air during the process of photosynthesis.
Colonies – Groups of the same species living closely together, often for mutual benefit. – Ants live in colonies where each member has a specific role to support the community.
Social Structure – The organization of individuals within a group that defines roles and relationships. – The social structure of bees includes a queen, workers, and drones, each with specific duties.
Temperature – A measure of the warmth or coldness of an environment or substance. – Reptiles rely on external temperature to regulate their body heat since they are cold-blooded.
Adaptation – A change or process by which an organism becomes better suited to its environment. – The thick fur of polar bears is an adaptation to the cold Arctic climate.
Fructose – A type of sugar found in fruits and honey, used by organisms as a source of energy. – Fructose is a simple sugar that provides energy to cells when metabolized.
Energy – The capacity to do work or produce change, essential for all biological processes. – Plants convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
Deserts – Arid regions with very low rainfall, often characterized by extreme temperatures. – Many animals in deserts have adaptations to conserve water and survive the harsh conditions.
