Although the animal is a mouse, this rodent does not look like a rat at all, because from a distance it looks like a small hedgehog.
A new study published in the journal Mammalogy describes a bizarre African mouse and is the only mammal known to collect plant toxins as a defense measure.
Despite its deadly secret weapon, the African crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) possesses an appearance that does not look like a killer at all. This animal looks like a cross between a small hedgehog and a skunk, only a few milligrams of the poison from their fur can kill an adult human.
In 2011, a first study on the unusual characteristics of crested rats showed that they collect the poison from the poison arrow plant (Acokanthera schimperi), which is also used by humans for hunting because it contains a lot of toxic cardenolide.
When threatened, these rats will erect a hairy ridge along their thorns and so it is assumed that they armed it by chewing the bark of the Acokanthera tree and licking its poison ridge. This first study confirmed the behavior of an individual, but the extent of the behavior in the population of this species is not yet clear.
To find out if toxic use is common in this species, the new study trapped 25 African crested rats to collect study specimens. After nearly 1,000 hours of research and monitoring, the authors found that collecting the Acokanthera toxin is common, and the social lives of these unusual animals are complex.
“We put these mice in a special monitoring cage and found that they communicated with each other by purring and grooming a lot,” said Sara Weinstein, senior author and Said Smithsonian, postdoctoral researcher at the University of the Utah. “It was a big surprise, since we all thought this rat had a lonely life instead of a pack. The social interactions of this strange animal.”
The researchers set up a small cage to house the mice in captivity. Despite the deadly poison, they are moderately herbivorous and love to brush each other. They also appear to live on a monogamous diet and dogs have many characteristics that are commonly found in other monogamous animals such as longevity and slow reproduction rates. When mating, crested rats spent more than half of their time together and repeatedly followed each other around the cage.
“We originally wanted to confirm that the toxin uptake behavior is real and in our study we found something completely unknown about the social behavior of this species,” Weinstein said.
People in East Africa have long known about the venom of the crested rat. This animal has repeatedly stunned curious dogs. Animals that are lucky enough to survive an encounter with rats tend to stay away from them.
