African Mole-Rats: Ecology and Eusociality (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521018654)

African mole-rats are a unique taxon of subterranean rodents that range in sociality from solitary-dwelling species to two "eusocial" species, the Damaraland mole-rat and the naked mole-rat. The naked mole-rat is arguably the closest that a mammal comes to behaving like social insects such as bees and termites, with large colonies and a behavioral and reproductive division of labor. As a family, the Bathyergidae represent a model system with which to study the evolution and maintenance of highly social cooperative breeding strategies. In this book, Nigel Bennett and Chris Faulkes provide a synthesis of the current knowledge of bathyergid systematics, ecology, reproductive biology, behavior, and genetics. They explore the role of these factors in the evolution of sociality in the Bathyergidae in the context of both vertebrates and invertebrates. This volume will be an important new resource for anyone interested in the evolution of sociality, specifically in mole-rats.

Author: Nigel C. Bennett,Chris G. Faulkes
ISBN-10: 052101865X
ISBN-13: 9780521018654
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/22/2005
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.60d