January 20, 2004
2 min read
Internal Compass Helps Blind Mole Rat Find Its Way
By Sarah Graham
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
From the looks of it, the blind mole rat doesn¿t have a lot going for it. Not only does the creature lack eyesight, but it also spends the majority of its life underground. Findings published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, however, indicate that the animal possesses a rare talent: the ability to exploit the earth¿s magnetic field to find its way home.
Blind mole rats have been observed using both their sense of smell and their balance to navigate over short distances. Tali Kimchi of Tel Aviv University and her colleagues tested the creature¿s ability to stay on course during longer treks from home. The researchers brought wild mole rats into the laboratory and tested them in two types of mazes. In the first, a central hub surrounded by eight spokes, the animals were required to return to a specific starting point. When the scientists altered the surrounding magnetic fields using external magnets the animals were less likely to perform the task correctly, the team reports. In the second test the animals were placed in a rectangular maze. Under normal conditions, the animals effectively sought out a shortcut. Once the magnetic field was altered, however, their attempts to find the shortcut were less successful.
With the new work, the blind mole rat joins the small league of animals¿including birds, fish and turtles¿that uses an internal compass to read the earth¿s magnetic field. The mole rat employs the ability only on treks far from home, the researchers note, and updates its position throughout its travels to avoid getting lost. ¿In light of our current knowledge,¿ they conclude, ¿we believe that other subterranean species, and possibly also surface-dwelling nocturnal animals, may have evolved the same highly accurate navigation system.¿
FAQs
The blind mole rat is the first animal found to navigate by combining dead reckoning with a sense of Earth's magnetic field, researchers say. TRAVELING BLIND. The blind mole rat navigates by its own compass. Tel Aviv Univ.
How do blind mole-rats navigate? ›
Blind mole rats have been suggested to detect vibrational signals through the somatosensory system in addition to the auditory system. Kimchi and colleagues demonstrated that BMRs use seismic signaling as an echolocation behavior (Kimchi et al., 2005).
How do mole-rats use the magnetic field? ›
The subterranean rodents have little use for vision, but their magnetic sense tells them which direction is which. A group of Ansell's mole rats. This image may only be reproduced with this Inside Science article.
How does Spalax navigate? ›
The findings from these experiments prove that the mole rat is able to perceive and use the earth's magnetic field to orient in space.
Do mole-rats use echolocation? ›
Blind mole rats have been suggested to detect vibrational signals through the somatosensory system in addition to the auditory system. Kimchi and colleagues demonstrated that BMRs use seismic signaling as an echolocation behavior (Kimchi et al., 2005).
How do rats navigate? ›
A new study found that rats can find their way through spaces by using their imagination, based on how the space looked before. In the same way you can remember how to get to different rooms in schools, rats can navigate their way using memory.
How do rats navigate in the dark? ›
Exploring rats move their long facial whiskers back and forth continuously while they are moving – a behaviour called "whisking". Scientists have known for a long time that movement of the whiskers provides these animals with a sense of touch that allows them to move around easily in the dark.
Do blind mole rats' eyes work? ›
On page 655, Russell Foster and colleagues (University College London) show that these 'blind' mammals actually sense light and regulate their body clocks accordingly. The authors isolated a functional cone-like pigment from the degenerate eye of the blind mole rat, which they show entrains circadian rhythms to light.
Can animals use the magnetic field for finding direction? ›
Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, provides animals with different sorts of information, which can be used for different purposes in navigation, as compasses and as maps. Sea turtles, salmon, and a few other animals use these magnetic cues to navigate during long-distance migrations.
Why did mole rats lose their eyes? ›
The fact that so many subterranean animal species have lost their eyes has long been explained by a simple assertion: Because the animals couldn't see in their dark caves or tunnels anyway, mutants without eyes would have a better chance of surviving because they no longer wasted energy and nutrients to grow and ...
Due to their underground habitats, moles' eyes have been modified by natural selection in ways very different from those of surface-dwelling animals. New research offers a detailed anatomical and genetic examination of the changes that result from living life in the dark.
Can Spalax be a pet? ›
If you've never heard of the lesser blind mole-rat (Spalax leucodon), that's no surprise! This reclusive, stubby-legged animal isn't exactly pet-friendly.
Are Spalax rare? ›
The sandy blind mole-rat (Spalax arenarius) is an endangered species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Ukraine. It was first identified by Evdokia Reshetnik in 1939.
How do mole-rats navigate? ›
Turtles and mole rats use magnetic fields to stay oriented
Now, two studies in the 12 October issue of Science reveal how sea turtles and mole rats tap a basic navigational tool: Earth's magnetic field. Earth's churning liquid core casts a magnetic field across the planet's surface.
Why are naked mole-rats naked? ›
And since they spend their lives underground, they don't need hair for sun protection. It's hard to see, but naked mole-rats do have about 100 fine hairs on their body that act like whiskers to help them feel what's around them. Hairs between their toes help sweep soil behind them while tunneling.
Can blind mole rats hear? ›
Two blind mole rats were tested for their ability to detect and localize sound. The results indicate that blind mole rats have severely limited, and probably degenerate, auditory abilities.
How do star nosed moles navigate? ›
Star-nosed moles have a good sense of smell – also called the olfactory sense – but they rely primarily on their sense of touch to navigate their surroundings. This is where their unusual star-shaped nose comes in. Super-sensitive microscopic touch organs called Eimer's organs cover the 22 rays of the nose.
How do mole-rats walk? ›
To find their way around underground, the mole-rats use their developed sense of smell, which is the more “common” sense, and they also use the Earth's magnetic field, which helps them figure out exactly which direction they are headed in. By the way, they can walk both forwards and backwards with the same skill.
How smart are mole-rats? ›
Although their encephalization quotient, a controversial marker of intelligence, is low, they exhibit many features considered tell-tale signs of highly intelligent species on our planet including longevity, plasticity, social cohesion and interaction, rudimentary language, sustainable farming abilities, and ...
