| a morphological study of the vertebral venous plexus and its connections in the cape dune mole-rat, bathyergus suillus (bathyergidae). | bathyergus suillus are subterranean rodents found in the western cape of south africa, where they inhabit sandy, humid burrows. vertebral venous plexuses around the vertebral column have been implicated in aiding the maintenance of a constant central nervous system temperature via its connections with muscles and interscapular brown adipose tissue. the morphology of the vertebral venous plexuses and its connections in b.suillus were investigated. frozen (n = 10) animals were defrosted; the venou ... | 2010 | 21312227 |
| subterranean sympatry: an investigation into diet using stable isotope analysis. | in the western cape three species of mole-rat occur in sympatry, however, little is known about differences in their dietary preferences. dietary composition of the three species; the common mole-rat (cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus), the cape mole-rat (georychus capensis) and the cape dune mole-rat (bathyergus suillus) were examined using stable isotope analysis. blood, fur and claw samples were collected from 70 mole-rats, in addition to several potential food items, to assess food selection ... | 2012 | 23139795 |
| middle and later stone age large mammal and tortoise remains from die kelders cave 1, western cape province, south africa. | die kelders cave 1, south africa, has provided more than 150,000 taxonomically identifiable mammal and tortoise bones from middle stone age (msa) and later stone age (lsa) deposits. cape dune mole-rats dominate the mammal sample, and they appear to have been accumulated mainly by people during the lsa occupation and mainly by eagle owls in the msa. in sharp contrast to the lsa fauna, the msa sample contains extralimital ungulates that imply relatively moist, grassy conditions. the large mean siz ... | 2000 | 10627402 |
| local and regional scale genetic variation in the cape dune mole-rat, bathyergus suillus. | the distribution of genetic variation is determined through the interaction of life history, morphology and habitat specificity of a species in conjunction with landscape structure. while numerous studies have investigated this interplay of factors in species inhabiting aquatic, riverine, terrestrial, arboreal and saxicolous systems, the fossorial system has remained largely unexplored. in this study we attempt to elucidate the impacts of a subterranean lifestyle coupled with a heterogeneous lan ... | 2014 | 25229558 |
| the topography and gross anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract of the cape dune mole-rat (bathyergus suillus). | the cape dune mole-rat, bathyergus suillus, is the largest truly subterranean rodent in the world and is restricted to sandy soil areas of the southern and south-western cape province. these animals are herbivorous, feeding mostly on the below ground portions of grass and geophytes. the present study was undertaken to explore whether there are any gross anatomical gastrointestinal adaptations associated with the herbivorous diet of the cape dune mole-rat and to provide a basis for further invest ... | 2006 | 16836591 |
| small mammal utilization by middle stone age humans at die kelders cave 1 and pinnacle point site 5-6, western cape province, south africa. | reported here are the results of a taphonomic analysis of the small mammals (between 0.75 kg and 4.5 kg adult body weight) and size 1 bovids (≤20 kg adult body weight) from the middle stone age (msa) sites of die kelders cave 1 (dk1) and pinnacle point site 5-6 (pp5-6), western cape province, south africa. this study provides a comprehensive taphonomic analysis of msa small mammals with a focus on discerning the role of humans in their accumulation and the implications for human behavioral adapt ... | 2016 | 27886809 |