Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

Mom: “Eat my sh*t and then help your younger siblings”

Posted 06 Sep 2018 / 0

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Responses to pup vocalizations in subordinate naked mole-rats are induced by estradiol ingested through coprophagy of queen’s feces

Okay, we all knew that naked mole rats are weird. The inbreeding, the eusociality in a mammal, and… well, the look. But this is a new wrinkle. Apparently mom is sending signals to help out with caring for younger siblings through her feces. Eat up and help out?

A Minor Post, Behavior, Kin Selection

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