Naked Mole Rats: The Kangaroo Rat

Mammals, as in the various rodents depicted in the video Chisellers have adapted to fit the many different environments they reside in. There are about 1,300 different species of rats and mice making them the largest that exists to this day. They are equipped with ever growing cheek teeth that replace what has been ground away. One in such mammal depicted within the video was the Kangaroo Rat. They have a quite interesting form of locomotion where they hop much like a kangaroo. Kangaroo Rats have extraordinary hearing, which is an important aspect of their survival in the wild. They as well have large cheek pouches on the outer surface of their cheeks that they use to carry seeds back to their burrows. This enables them to carry large loads of food back to their burrows at a given time, lessening their exposure in the open. When being as small as a Kangaroo Rat, adaptations are key component to their survival in the wild. …show more content…
Interestingly enough, Naked Mole Rats are one of the only two mammal species that are eusocial. They live in colonies in a hierarchical fashion with the queen Naked Mole Rat being the only one that reproduces. Worker rats work diligently searching for food and maintaining their burrows. Their teeth are used for digging, so their lips close behind their teeth to prevent soil from entering their mouth. Naked Mole Rats live almost entirely underground, so their eyesight is quite poor, but they make that up with an exceptional sense of smell. Rodents truly are the most adaptable species of