African mole-rats are a unique taxon of subterranean rodents that range in sociality from solitary-dwelling species to two "eusocial" species, the Damaraland mole-rat and the naked mole-rat. The naked mole-rat is arguably the closest that a mammal comes to behaving like social insects such as bees and termites, with large colonies and a behavioral and reproductive division of labor. As a family, the Bathyergidae represent a model system with which to study the evolution and maintenance of highly social cooperative breeding strategies. In this book, Nigel Bennett and Chris Faulkes provide a synthesis of the current knowledge of bathyergid systematics, ecology, reproductive biology, behavior, and genetics. They explore the role of these factors in the evolution of sociality in the Bathyergidae in the context of both vertebrates and invertebrates. This volume will be an important new resource for anyone interested in the evolution of sociality, specifically in mole-rats.
Explores the range of social systems in this fascinating group to understand how complex social systems evolved.| Preface |
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| Acknowledgements |
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| 1. Introduction to the Bathyergidae |
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| 2. The subterranean niche |
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| 3. The food resource of African Mole-Rats |
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| 4. Social organisation in African Mole-Rats |
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| 5. Life history patterns and reproductive biology |
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| 6. Social suppression of reproduction in African Mole-Rats |
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| 7. The genetic structure of Mole-Rat populations |
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| 8. The evolution of sociality on African Mole-Rats |
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| References |
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| Index. |
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