| lh responses to single doses of exogenous gnrh by social mashona mole-rats: a continuum of socially induced infertility in the family bathyergidae. | the mashona mole-rat, cryptomys darlingi, exhibits an extreme reproductive division of labour. reproduction in the colony is restricted to a single breeding pair. the non-reproductive male and female colony members are restrained from sexual activity by being familiar and related to one another and the reproductive animals. circulating basal concentrations of luteinizing hormone (lh) as well as lh levels measured in response to a single exogenous gonadotropin releasing hormone (gnrh) challenge a ... | 1997 | 9263467 |
| specific paucity of unmyelinated c-fibers in cutaneous peripheral nerves of the african naked-mole rat: comparative analysis using six species of bathyergidae. | in mammalian peripheral nerves, unmyelinated c-fibers usually outnumber myelinated a-fibers. by using transmission electron microscopy, we recently showed that the saphenous nerve of the naked mole-rat (heterocephalus glaber) has a c-fiber deficit manifested as a substantially lower c:a-fiber ratio compared with other mammals. here we determined the uniqueness of this c-fiber deficit by performing a quantitative anatomical analysis of several peripheral nerves in five further members of the bath ... | 2012 | 22528859 |
| heterothermy in two mole-rat species subjected to interacting thermoregulatory challenges. | maintaining a high and constant body temperature (t(b) ) is often viewed as a fundamental benefit of endothermy, but variation in t(b) is likely the norm rather than an exception among endotherms. thus, attempts to elucidate which factors cause t(b) of endotherms to deviate away from the t(b) that maximizes performance are becoming more common. one approach relies on an adaptive framework of thermoregulation, used for a long time to predict variation in t(b) of ectotherms, as a starting poin ... | 2011 | 22105982 |
| circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in the subterranean mashona mole rat, cryptomys darlingi. | the mashona mole rat, cryptomys darlingi, is a social, subterranean african rodent that is rarely, if ever, exposed to light, and that exhibits a regressed visual system. this study investigated locomotor activity patterns of mashona mole rats (n=12) under different light cycles. activity was measured using either infrared captors (n=8) or running wheels (n=4). the mole rats entrained their activity to a standard (ld 12:12) photoperiod. they displayed either a nocturnal or diurnal activity prefe ... | 2004 | 15708770 |
| melatonin secretion in the mashona mole-rat, cryptomys darlingi--influence of light on rhythmicity. | the hormone melatonin is synthesised and secreted from the pineal gland in darkness and triggers the daily and seasonal timing of various physiological and behavioural processes. the mashona mole-rat, cryptomys darlingi, lives in subterranean burrows that are completely sealed and is therefore rarely, if ever, exposed to light under natural conditions. hence, this species is of particular interest for studies on rhythms of melatonin secretion. we investigated how plasma melatonin concentrations ... | 2005 | 15639153 |
| social thermoregulation and socio-physiological effect in the subterranean mashona mole-rat (fukomys darlingi). | a strict underground style of life is one of the greatest challenges for mammals partly due to the high energetic cost of obtaining food by digging through a mechanically resistant substrate. any energy saving adaptation, for example the effect of social thermoregulation, is thus very important for subterranean mammals. it has also been suggested that social mammals may suffer from "isolation stress" if measured alone, because the presence of other family member(s) may decrease the stress levels ... | 2018 | 30509660 |