Evolution of Rats

Summary of “How rats and mice came to have a unique masticatory apparatus, key to their evolutionary success” by Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)

          

         Do you hate rats? Have you ever just wished they would disappear? Well sadly for you, rats will probably never disappear. This is because rats and mice have been one of the most successful organisms in terms of evolutionary development.  There are over 583 different species of rodents throughout the world. These rodents live in all different environments.  Scientists still do not fully understand why these rodents have been so successful with evolution. A recent study shows that this might be due to their masticatory apparatus. A masticatory apparatus is pretty much the way there jaws and teeth are designed and aligned. The family that all rodents came from is known as Murinae, which appeared 12 million years ago in Asia. The researches found that there were two major evolutionary changes in the rat’s masticatory apparatus. The first change happened when they switched to an insectivorous diet, this new diet called for different chewing movements. Then the Murinae returned to a herbivorous diet, however they kept their chewing movements.  This chewing movement helped them evolve and overcome many obstacles.

            I find it extremely fascinating how animals can evolve and change entire aspects of their lifestyle. This article really shows how much the rats that we often consider “nasty” have evolved and thrived with evolution. It is hard to believe that something as simple as changing you diet could change your evolutionary success in such a huge way.

APA citation

Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). (2013, October 28). How rats     and mice came to have a unique masticatory apparatus, key to their evolutionary success. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 9, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131028100942.htm