Re: Endothermic Crocodiles - Naked Mole Rats?

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Fri, 26 Jan 1996 Stang1996@aol.com wrote:

> I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days, and it is a very
> interesting idea.  I've got a question.  Are there any fossils of the
> ancestors of naked mole rats?  Do the closest relatives of naked mole rats
> have erect limbs?  

If I recall correctly (I'm not CERTAIN, so correct me if I am wrong), the 
closest relatives of NMRs have erect limbs, fur, and warm blood.

For those of you who don't know, Naked Mole Rats are
> ectothermic mammals (I'm not sure if they really are rats though) 

Last I heard, distantly related to old world porcupines and some other 
African rodents.

that live
> in burrows in Somalia, have no hair, and have a hive-syyle society almost
> like bees (no joke).  

And nothing like dinosaurs.

> If anyone wants to see some Naked Mole Rats there is a really cool exhibit of
> them at The Pacific Science Center in Seattle.

Yes; a very good exhibit.

> Peter Buchholz
> Stang1996@aol.com
> 

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8204
PharriNJ@PLU.edu