Mom: “Eat my sh*t and then help your younger siblings”
Posted 06 Sep 2018 / 0Proceedings 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