Afarensis: Rudolf Raff: Slandering Naked Mole Rats

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Afarensis is a 3.5-2.8 million year old hominin from the Kada Hadar member of the Hadar formation in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. He is approximately 41 inches tall, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a cranial capacity of a whopping 410 cc (approximately). Afarensis is currently considered to be transitional between apes and humans and displays some traits of both. Since he spends a lot of time on the couch watching monster movies, some observers question whether he is an obligate biped (although no one has observed him climbing a tree). He also has a blog called Transitions:The Evolution of Life His previous blog can be found here.
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Rudolf Raff: Slandering Naked Mole Rats

Category: Biology
Posted on: August 18, 2006 5:18 PM, by afarensis, FCD

Really, it was very shocking! I'm reading The Shape of Life: Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form and was really enjoying it. It is a very well written book.

Enjoying it, that is, until I got to I got to page 368 and encountered a statement so horribly slanderous and foul that I had to double check and make sure I was still reading the smae book. Don't take my word for it, though:

The downright most desparately ugly mammal on Earth is the naked mole rat; it has been called a sausage with fangs.

I ask you, does this look like a "sausage with fangs"?

Mole%20Rat%201.jpg
I mean, look at that cute little face!
Does this look like "The downright most desparately ugly mammal on Earth"?

or this?

naked_mole_rat%202.jpg

Seems to me somebody owes somebody an apology and a retraction...

On an administrative note, "Know Your Primate" won't be up till tomorrow...

Comments

Comparing photos 2 & 3 to photo 1 ... the nmr in photo 1 looks like it has some horrific facial tumor.

Posted by: llewelly | August 18, 2006 8:10 PM

Truth is an absolute defense against charges of libel.

I agree, Shape of Life is an excellent book.

Posted by: PZ Myers | August 18, 2006 10:01 PM

Yes, it is very well written and really engaged me in the material.

Posted by: afarensis, FCD | August 18, 2006 11:37 PM

I would describe it as a, so ugly it's cute sausage with fangs.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg | August 19, 2006 1:33 AM

I should just like to weigh in and say that the answer to your questions is "yes."

Posted by: Invigilator | August 19, 2006 9:23 PM

Y'all have issues. Picking on small fur-less animals like that...perhaps you are just jealous of the goodlooks on display in the above pictures :)

Posted by: afarensis, FCD | August 19, 2006 10:00 PM

You are talking about an animal so ugly it can make roots grow up. A beast so horrific that when the first naked mole rat looked at itself in the mirror, all it's hair fell out. A creature that is the perfect visualization of the soul of a creationist.

And they're so darn cute.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg | August 20, 2006 5:59 AM

It is all relative (s)
Hi Rudy

Posted by: Jim Weir | May 12, 2007 5:34 PM

Hi Rudy?
Eusocial animal you!

Posted by: afarensis, FCD | May 12, 2007 6:55 PM

They are really UGLY things!!!!
They make me feel sick!!! Yuckk

Posted by: Vickie | March 19, 2008 8:29 AM