Rat-shaped little cows. A porcupine-like rat turns its quills into lethal weapons by coating them with a plant toxin, a new study says. The African crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) is found in the north east of continent, and has long been thought to be poisonous: there have been several reports of … They are pretty fuzzy." Give them an opportunity, and African crested rats will take nibbles from the department of a poison arrow tree. ", Sara Weinstein/Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. African crested rats are rabbit-size fuzzballs with endearing faces and a catlike purr. Instead, the African crested rat will gnaw on branches of poison arrow trees, and then coat its fur with the poison, becoming truly toxic in the process. African crested rat uses poison trick to foil predators. The African crested rat is the only mammal known to sequester lethal plant toxins. When their cages were next to each other, though, "they started making these really interesting purring vocalizations that we'd never heard before," says Weinstein. Intriguingly, those flanks have rows of weird hairs. Then they happened to trap a male and a female rat living in the same area. It’s not for vitamin. An African crested rat is a rabbit-sized rodent that is the only known mammal to sequester plant toxins as a chemical defense Credit: Stephanie Higgins People in East Africa have long suspected the rat to be poisonous. It sure looked like two knew each other and wanted to be together. Scientists still aren’t sure how often the rats anoint, or even how they tolerate the toxins themselves, especially if some of it ends up going down their gullets. 0. To would-be predators, the African crested rat, Lophiomys imhausi, is trouble. It's felled more than a few hungry dogs over the years. For a rodent that resembles a child who loves skunk and steel wool brushes. 1. ", The African crested rat sequesters poisons from Acokanthera schimperi into specialized hairs, shown here alongside typical hairs. "This latest paper is a very nice piece of work," says Jonathan Kingdon, a zoologist at the University of Oxford who led the team that first observed a rat chewing bark and applying poison. The African crested rat gnaws on poisonous tree branches, then grooms its noxious spittle into its fur. In 2011, a team of researchers described the heart-stopping toxins that the rats milked from Acokanthera schimperi, a tree traditionally harvested by hunters who would use its juices to lace their arrows. To better understand the ecology of this unusual poisonous mammal, we used camera … WhatsApp. Crested rats do not produce their own poison like the duck billed platypus, which has a poisonous spur on its hind foot, or Solenodon shrews which make poisonous saliva. All plant parts contain acovenoside A and ouabaïne, which are cardiotonic glycosides. Microscopic image of the specialized hairs that the African crested rat anoints with poison from Acokanthera schimperi. A pair of African crested rats. Share page. Ashok Singh - November 25, 2020. The African crested rat - also known as the maned rat - is normally a rather unassuming and sluggish creature. In sharp contrast to most of their skittish rodent kin, Lophiomys imhausi lumber about with the languidness of porcupines. Give them an opportunity, and African crested rats will take nibbles from the department of a poison arrow tree. The African crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) slathers its fur in a deadly toxin. As if the idea of giant rats wasn’t freaky enough, a group of scientists have confirmed that the African crested rat, a rabbit-sized rodent, can lace its fur with poison … It contains a toxin purportedly potent enough to kill an elephant, when applied to an arrow head. When offered cuttings of Acokanthera, some of the animals chomped on the bark then groomed it into their stripes. Share. To find out if packing poison was common, the new research trapped 25 African crested rats to gather the largest sample size ever studied. It’s not for nutrition. The African crested rat may look adorable, but its fur is packed with enough poison to fell an elephant and just a few milligrams can kill a human. The African crested rat sequesters poisons from Acokanthera schimperi into specialized hairs, shown here alongside typical hairs. The discovery thrilled mammologists. The bark, wood and roots of Acokanthera schimperi are used as an important ingredient of arrow poison in Africa. People in East Africa have long known about the crested rat’s poisonous punch, which has felled many an overcurious dog. The researchers found evidence that some of the male and female rats might go steady, or even jointly care for their young, while in captivity. Still, he says, there are many unanswered questions that "scream for attention, most notably the precise chemistry and evolutionary history of crested rat saliva. The African crested rat gnaws on poisonous tree branches, then grooms its noxious spittle into its fur. But now we're finally trying to get at what really goes on with this rat.". Give them a chance and African crested rats will take nibbles from the branch of a poison arrow tree. In the chase that ensued, some of the packets of poop ripped open, scattering scat all about. Photo by Sara B. Weinstein. To would-be predators, the African crested rat, Lophiomys imhausi, is trouble. Biologist Sara Weinstein and her colleagues saw African crested rats in Kenya chewing poisonous tree bark, and combing the toxin into specialized hairs on their coats. A 2011 paper proposed these large rodents sequester toxins from the poison arrow tree (Acokanthera schimperi). “We’re now just starting to unpack what makes this animal tick.”. “If a dog tried to attack them, the dogs would get sick and die. hide caption. "Every once in a while they did it, but not always," says Weinstein, who says what triggers a rat to anoint itself remains a mystery. An undated photo provided by Stephanie Higgins shows an African crested rat. Copy link. The rodents chew on the bark and leaves of the highly toxic poison arrow tree (Acokanthera schimperi) before transferring a mixture of toxins and saliva specifically to the lateral lines of fur on their flanks. These spongy hairs include a poison highly effective sufficient to deliver an elephant to its knees, and are central to Dr. Weinstein’s latest analysis, which confirmed concepts about how this rat makes itself so lethal. 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