Tag: rodent
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Meet the dormouse
Autumn officially starts in the Northern Hemisphere this Sunday, September 22. As the weather cools and the nights lengthen, many animals prepare for winter. Those that migrate are heading towards better weather, and those that hibernate are stocking up on fat stores to make it through the winter. So, let’s talk about the MVP of…
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Meet the capybara
It’s been a stressful time for me lately, so I want to channel one of the chillest animals I know: the capybara. There are two species of capybaras: the greater capybara (Hydrochoeris hydrochoeris) and the lesser capybara (H. isthmius). You can find capybaras on Central and South American riverbanks and in marshes. Basically, anywhere east…
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Meet the groundhog
Today, February 2, is Groundhog Day! A day when a groundhog predicts the weather, and we all celebrate the majesty of groundhogs. Groundhogs (Marmota monax) deserve to be celebrated because they are North America’s most widespread marmot (aka, ground squirrel) species. You can find groundhogs throughout most of the United States and Canada in various…
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Meet the beaver
It’s almost time for the curling season to start, and I am very excited to get back on the ice! In honor of curling, I wanted to talk about the national animal of Scotland, the country where curling originated. Unfortunately, Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn, and I couldn’t find any scientific papers about this…
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Meet the naked mole-rat
It’s a weird one this week, folks. I was preparing for a lab presentation when I stumbled across a paper looking at pain insensitivity in mole-rats. I was absolutely taken with this paper – who knew that naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) didn’t feel pain from peppers or citrus? (more on this later). Why are they…
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Meet the central rock rat
As you may know, I studied rodents in during my PhD work. While I specifically studied prairie voles, I did some field work that exposed me to other rodents (i.e., rats, mice, shrews, etc.). So I thought I had a good handle on the types of rodents out there. But guess what? I just found…