The queen sets the tone: Deciphering the dialects of naked mole-rats
by Romina Castagnino on 8 February 2021
Naked mole-rats have their own dialects that differ between colonies of the rodents, researchers have found.
The virtually blind animals communicate underground through squeaks, grunts and chirps, and have an “accent” that is determined by the queen of each colony.
This shared dialect “strengthens cohesion and a sense of belonging among the naked mole-rats of a specific colony,” says Alison Barker, lead author of the new study.
The finding has important implications for the understanding of our own history, by potentially shedding light into how human linguistic culture evolved.