Analysis of ageing and longevity in African mole-rats – digging deeper than before (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)

Pages	125–133
DOI	10.37520/lynx.2022.008
Keywords	Bathyergidae, ageing, lifespan, Fukomys darlingi
Citation	DAMMANN, Philip, BEGALL, Sabine a ŠUMBERA, Radim. Analysis of ageing and longevity in African mole-rats – digging deeper than before (Rodentia: Bathyergidae). Lynx, new series. Prague: National Museum, 2022, 53(1), 125–133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/lynx.2022.008. ISSN 0024-7774 (print), 1804-6460 (online). Also available from: https://www.nm.cz/en/periodicals/lynx-new-series/53-1/analysis-of-ageing-and-longevity-in-african-mole-rats-digging-deeper-than-before-rodentia-bathyergidae

Lynx, new series | 2022/53/1

African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) have intrigued gerontologists since extreme longevity and intraspecific divergence in ageing rates were demonstrated in some of their representatives. Although many ageing-related papers on African mole-rat species have been published in the last 20 years, a comprehensive overview of lifespan distributions, longevity metrics, and annual mortality rates in different mole-rat species (including solitary ones) is still lacking. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by (re)analyzing published and hitherto unpublished longitudinal data of five African mole-rat species with different social organizations. We present strong indications that solitary mole-rats age faster than social species, and that the poorly studied Mashona mole-rat Fukomys darlingi exhibits some ageing characteristics not previously reported in other social mole-rats. Our study also provides the first overview of shape metrics of longevity for African mole-rat species intended to serve as a starting point for future updates.

Full Text of the Article