Scientists are working to learn more about these rare, elusive creatures that live underground in Australia.
Northern and southern marsupial moles are so rare that a sighting in the wild can make scientists ecstatic. These creatures are poorly understood, with limited knowledge about their daily lives and evolutionary history. Dr. Clark, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, highlights the challenges of studying these subterranean animals in their Australian desert habitat. He explains that their lack of permanent tunnels makes them difficult to locate.
Despite the obstacles, Clark emphasizes the advantages of an underground lifestyle for moles, such as protection from predators and extreme temperatures. However, he also points out the drawbacks, including constant darkness and low-oxygen air. Clark's research focuses on understanding how mammals adapt to living underground, a lifestyle that has evolved independently at least five times across different mammal groups. He is particularly interested in the marsupial moles of Australia, which have been isolated for millions of years. These moles share similarities with European and star-nosed moles in their body plan and limbs, despite being unrelated. Like kangaroos, marsupial moles possess a pouch, albeit an upside-down one, likely to prevent sand accumulation during their forward movement through sand. Recently, Clark collaborated with Australian biologists to analyze DNA from a single specimen, a female southern marsupial mole. Due to their rarity and short lifespans in captivity, obtaining marsupial mole specimens is exceptionally challenging. Decades ago, tissues from this particular mole were collected after its death and preserved in the South Australian Museum. Thanks to museum researcher, these frozen tissues became available for DNA sequencing
MARSUPIAL MOLES AUSTRALIA EVOLUTION GENETICS SUBTERRANEAN LIFE
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