Naked Mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History

Introduction to African mole-rats

• Group of 30 or more species of rodents that live underground in sub-Saharan Africa (Faulkes and Bennett 2013; Faukes, Mgode, et al. 2017)
  • Inhabit a variety of soil types
• Characteristics (Buffenstein 1996)
  • Streamlined body shape with short limbs
  • Blunt noses
  • Short tails
• Ecology and behavior (Buffenstein 1996)
  • Live underground
    • Less exposure to aboveground temperature extremes and most predators
    • Experience low oxygen conditions (poorly ventilated environment)
    • Longer distance sight and hearing limits certain communication channels/use of senses
    • Difficult to locate sufficient food
  • Range of social systems (Faulkes and Bennett 2013):
    • Solitary
    • Social
    • Eusocial
      • See Social Behavior

Taxonomy

• Naked mole-rat placed in its own family, Heterocephalidae (Patterson and Upham 2014; Patterson 2016)
  • Previously in Bathyergidae (African mole-rats)
• Heterocephalidae and Bathyergidae comprise a monophyletic group (Patterson and Upham 2014; Patterson 2016)

Nomenclature

• Genus: Heterocephalus
  • Refers to naked mole-rat’s head shape (Jarvis and Sherman 2002)
• Species: glaber
  • Refers to naked mole-rat’s smooth skin (Jarvis and Sherman 2002)

Synonyms

• Heterocephalus phillipsi, H. ansorgei, H. dunni, H. stygius (Jarvis and Sherman 2002)
• Fornaria phillipsi (Jarvis and Sherman 2002)

Common names

• Naked mole-rat (English) (Patterson 2016)
  • Only African mole-rat without fur coat
• Hétérocéphale (French) (Patterson 2016)
• Nacktmull (German) (Patterson 2016)
• Rata topo lampiña (Spanish) (Patterson 2016)

Other colloquial or local names

• Desert mole rat (Patterson 2016)
• Sand puppy (Patterson 2016)
• “The Methuselah mouse” (Patterson 2016)
  • Refers to the naked mole-rat’s long life span

Fossil history and evolutionary relationships

• Naked mole-rat lineage (Family Heterocephalidae) distantly related to other African mole-rats (Family Bathyergidae) (Faulkes, Bennett, et al. 1997; Faulkes et al. 2004; Patterson and Upham 2014; Patterson 2016)
  • Diverged in East Africa approximately 30 to 50 mya (Oligocene)
    • Long independent evolution
    • Diverged long before diversification of other African mole-rats, approximately 18 mya
• Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) also eusocial (Faulkes, Bennett, et al. 1997; Faulkes and Bennett 2001; Faulkes and Bennett 2013)
  • Eusociality evolved independently in the naked and Damaraland mole-rats (Jarvis and Bennett 1993)
• Oldest fossils of ancestral H. glaber from Miocene (11 to 25 mya) (Brett 1986, as cited by Jarvis and Sherman 2002)

Closest extant/living relatives

• African mole-rats (Family Bathyergidae) (Patterson 2016)

Television and film

• Documentaries
  • World’s Weirdest (BBC Two, 2015)
  • Naked Mole Rats (Smithsonian Channel, 2019)
  • Six Feet Under the Savannah (Viasat Productions, 2012)
    • Pre-release clip (naked mole-rat footage begins at 02:15)

Books

• Children's books
  • Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems (2009)

Art

• Animation
  • A Selfless Society (Julie Freeman, ca. 2016)

Pop Science

• Named 2013 Vertebrate of the Year by Science magazine (Poppick 2013)
• Popular You-Tube video: The Naked Mole-Rat (Emily Graslie, The Field Museum, Chicago)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia — mammals

Order: Rodentia — rodents

Family: Heterocephalidae — naked mole-rat

Genus: Heterocephalus

Species: Heterocephalus glaber (Rüppell, 1842) — naked mole-rat

Sources: Patterson and Upham (2014), Patterson (2016)

Because of its unusual physical and socio-ecological traits, the naked mole-rate has been extensively studied by scientists.

It is classified in its own taxonomic family, Heterocephalidae, and is only distantly related to other African mole-rats.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.