Naked mole rats can speak unique dialects, as found out by researchers in a recently published study.
Essentially, an encounter between two almost blind naked mole rats in a dark underground tunnel could mean either a time of possible bloody fight between strangers or a friendly meeting.
In an article, NPR describes the said creatures as chirping to "each other in greeting." But what transpires next is according to the exact sound of those chirps.
A study published in the Science journal indicates such occurrence take place due to the fact that each colony of these naked mole rats speaks its own unique language, instantaneously identifiable to its members.
Additionally, the said study also specifies young pups are learning their group's dialect "as they grow up," and it is part of a strict culture of conformity which the queen of the colony maintains.
How the Queen of the Colony Maintains Her Control
According to scientist Alison Barker from the Berlin, Germany-based Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine, they think that "one of the ways in which the queen of the colony" is maintaining her control is by making sure that everyone is strictly observing a specific dialect.
Such a discovery means that these rat species join a small group of animals --- humans, songbirds, and whales --- all known for having linguistic differences that can reveal where they come from.
Furthermore, scientists who are interested to find out how language is learned now have a now have a tiny mammal that they can use to investigate such a process in a laboratory.
Gary Lewin, who's also part of the Berlin research team, said, for him, one of the most interesting things is "that a vocal culture exists in a rodent brain."
Lewin adds, when that brain is taken out, and one looks at it next to the brain of a mouse, "you would not be able to tell the difference.
Observing The Nearly Hairless Rodents' Behavior
Communicating using dialects is far from the "only weird" traits of naked mole rats, which have long captivated biologists.
Essentially, these nearly sightless and nearly hairless rodents are not moles, neither they are rats. Typically, dozens of them are dwelling together in complicated burrows underground in East Africa's dry parts, searching for plant tubers to be nourished.
These creatures are described as cold-blooded, and they can endure even just a small amount of oxygen. They appear to resist cancer too and certain types of pain, and they can live for more than three decades, such a long, long time for a rodent.
Furthermore, their societies function like a bee or ant colony. A governing queen is the only one that gets to have babies, while the rest have jobs and work together "for the common good."
Specifically, the naked mole-rat colonies are said to be remarkably "xenophobic and will attack outsiders." Commenting on this finding, Barker wonders if that multifaceted behavior might, in a way, be associated with the constant chattering of the creatures.
She says the animals "were making all these kind of strange bird-like noises," explaining that how naked mole rats are communicating has not been investigated all that much before.
Consequently, Barker and her colleagues spent quite some time to record and catalog vocalizations of these animals. Now, she continues, they can say there are approximately 25 different sounds that the said rodents make.
And her favorite, "the toilet call." The researcher found that naked mole rats have a shared toilet chamber, and the queen is singing a song when she goes there.
That, for instance, Barker explains, is "something that we have no idea what it means," although it is a "real cool direction that we want to look into in the future.
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