Eusociality

I have to admit that word was new to me.  Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification.  For example, bees are eusocial, while zebras are not.

Imagine my surprise to learn that naked mole rats are eusocial creatures.  Go on.  Imagine it.

You probably know that these little guys are neither moles nor rats.  They are also called sand puppies, although they are not canines, either.  They are related to chinchillas and guinea pigs, though.  I'm pretty sure it's on the mom's side of the family, but I'm not positive about that.

Anyway, these little critters spend their lives under the African sands, gnawing away on roots and tubers.  They actually have a complex society, with a queen as the head of the whole lot.  Colonies range anywhere from 20 to 300, which is a heck of a lot of mole rats.  They also live up to nine times longer than other rodents.

Here is a bit more info about mole rat society:

Naked mole-rat colonies are organized into strict hierarchical castes. At the top of the heap—second only to the ruling matriarch—is the queen’s harem of one to three males with whom she chooses to mate. Beneath these high-status breeders are soldiers—both male and female—who defend the colony against predators and foreign mole-rats. Odors distinguish friends from foes. To achieve a recognizable odor, naked mole-rats often roll about in the burrow’s toilet chamber, coating their body with the familiar scent of the colony’s feces and urine. Extremely xenophobic, naked mole-rats will fiercely attack unfamiliar intruders that may be encountered when one colony breaks into the burrow of another.

So now you know.  You may feel like you want to take your brain out and wash it, but those memories are there for good, my friend.

Today's post is brought to you by naked mole rats, which have been described as "overcooked hot dogs with teeth."

Here is a short video about naked mole rats.  The narrator is British, so you have to take it seriously.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_UDTzG-6Qo

I couldn't find any actual cartoons about naked mole rats.  So here is a cartoonish cover of a children's book by Mo Willems.  He is the same guy who did "Sheep in the Big City", a truly odd cartoon that I very much enjoyed.