Research progress on the mechanism and transmission pathway of seismic signals in subterranean rodents
Received date: 2025-04-17
Accepted date: 2025-05-19
Online published: 2025-12-03
Subterranean rodents inhabit dark and complex underground tunnels. Under the action of environmental pressure, they have evolved communication methods that are compatible with the environment, and seismic communication is one of the typical behavioral strategies for their biological evolutionary adaptation. Understanding the location and transmission pathway of seismic signals is the first problem to be solved to improve and develop the research on seismic communication of subterranean rodents. However, the unique habitat lifestyle of subterranean rodents increases the difficulty of seismic communication research, limiting the in-depth development of research on seismic communication of subterranean rodents. This paper reviews the research status of the occurrence mechanism and transmission pathway of seismic signals in subterranean rodents. In general, the signal generation mechanism involves the diversity of foot, head, chest, teeth and nasal snout. The signal transduction pathway includes bone conduction and somatosensory reception.Bone conduction relies on the mandibular-ossicular chain to transmit seismic to the inner ear, whereas somatosensory reception is achieved by mechanical receptors, and the two may work together at different distances to achieve signal reception. The future research direction is prospected from the difference of the role of related parts in the mechanism of seismic signal generation, the transmission pathway of seismic signal, and the application in the management of zokor damage.
Kechi DONG , Limin HUA . Research progress on the mechanism and transmission pathway of seismic signals in subterranean rodents[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025 , 45(6) : 763 -770 . DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.151090
| Anthwal N, Hall R P, De La Rosa Hernandez F A, Koger M, Yohe L R, Hedrick B P, Davies K T J, Mutumi G L, Roseman C C, Dumont E R, Dávalos L M, Rossiter S J, Sadier A, Sears K E. 2023. Cochlea development shapes bat sensory system evolution [J]. The Anatomical Record, 2023: 1-12. DOI: 10.1002/ar.25353 . | |
| Artiga M, Birch J, Martínez M. 2020. The meaning of biological signals [J]. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 84: 101348. DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc. 2020.101348 . | |
| Banakh L Y. 2021. Dynamic fractals in biomechanics: the vibration receptors of Pacinian corpuscles [J]. Journal of Machinery Manufacture and Reliability, 50: 19-25. | |
| Bedná?ová R, Hrouzková?Knotková E, Burda H, Sedlá?ek F, ?umbera R. 2013. Vocalizations of the giant mole?rat (Fukomys mechowii), a subterranean rodent with the richest vocal repertoire [J]. Bioacoustics, 22 (2): 87-107. | |
| Beecher M D. 2020. Animal communication [A]. In: Pickren W ed. Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of Psychology [M].Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. | |
| Begall S, Burda H, Schleich C E. 2007. Subterranean Rodents: News from Underground [M]. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 3-9. | |
| Bennett N C, Jarvis J U M. 1988. The reproductive biology of the Cape mole?rat, Georychus capensis (Rodentia, Bathyergidae) [J]. Journal of Zoology, 214 (1): 95-106. | |
| Boulais N, Misery L. 2007. Merkel cells [J]. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 57 (1): 147-165. | |
| Bradbury J W, Vehrencamp S L. 1998. Principles of Animal Communication [M]. Sinauer Associates Sunderland, Massachusetts. | |
| Chapuis L, Collin S P. 2022. The auditory system of cartilaginous fishes [J]. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 32 (2): 521-554. | |
| Cocroft R B, Gogala M, Hill P S M, Wessel A. 2014. Fostering research progress in a rapidly growing field [A]. In: CocroftR B, GogalaM, HillP S M, edsWessel A. Studying Vibrational Communication [M]. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 3-12. | |
| ?okl A, Laumann R A, ?uni? Kosi A, Blassioli?Moraes M C, Virant?Doberlet M, Borges M. 2015. Interference of overlapping insect vibratory communication signals: an Eushistus heros model [J]. PLoS ONE, 10 (6): e0130775. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130775 . | |
| Dalecky A, Sow I, Danzabarma A A I, Garba M, Etougbétché J, Badou S, Dossou H, Niang C T, Diene O, Diallo I, Saghiri M S A, Sidatt M E H, Steenbergen F V, Bal A B, Bosma L, Houéménou G, Atteynine S A, Hima K, Dobigny G, Meheretu Y. 2024. From problem to progress: Rodent management in agricultural settings of sub?Saharan Africa and calling for an urban perspective [J]. Crop Protection, 181: 106673. DOI: 10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106673 . | |
| Dong K C, Zhou J W, Zhang F Y, Dong L M, Chu B, Hua R, Hua L M. 2023. Seismic signaling for detection of empty tunnels in the plateau zokor, Eospalax baileyi [J]. Animals, 13 (2): 240. DOI: 10.3390/ani13020240 . | |
| Dursahinhan A T, Kenkel D A, Gardner S L. 2023. Helminth and protozoan parasites of subterranean rodents (Chordata, Mammalia, Rodentia) of the world [J]. ZooKeys, 1151: 159-203. | |
| Echeverri S A, Miller A E, Chen J, McQueen E W, Plakke M, Spicer M, Hoke K L, Stoddard M C, Morehouse N I. 2021. How signaling geometry shapes the efficacy and evolution of animal communication systems [J]. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 61 (3): 787-813. | |
| Francescoli G, Altuna C A. 1998. Vibrational communication in subterranean rodents: the possible origin of different strategies [J]. Evolution of Communication, 2 (2): 217-231. | |
| Franklin K P, Smith T D, DeLeon V B. 2025. Ontogenetic scaling of the primate middle ear [J]. American Journal of Primatology, 87(1): e23710.DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23710 . | |
| Giannoni S M, Márquez R, Borghi C E. 1997. Airborne and substrate?borne communications of Microtus (Terricola) gerbei and M. (T.) duodecimcostatus [J]. Acta Theriologica, 42 (2): 123-141. | |
| Gregory T R. 2009. Understanding natural selection: essential concepts and common misconceptions [J]. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2: 156-175. | |
| Halata Z. 1988. Ruffini corpusclea stretch receptor in the connective tissue of the skin and locomotion apparatus [J]. Progress in Brain Research, 74: 221-229. | |
| Herbst M, Jarvis J U M, Bennett N C. 2004. A field assessment of reproductive seasonality in the threatened wild Namaqua dune mole?rat (Bathyergus janetta) [J]. Journal of Zoology, 263 (3): 259-268. | |
| Heth G, Frankenberg E, Pratt H, Nevo E. 1991. Seismic communication in the blind subterranean mole?rat: patterns of head thumping and of their detection in the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel [J]. Journal of Zoology, 224 (4): 633-638. | |
| Heth G, Frankenberg E, Raz A, Nevo E. 1987. Vibrational communication in subterranean mole rats (Spalax ehrenbergi) [J]. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 21: 31-33. | |
| Hill P S M. 2001. Vibration and animal communication: a review [J]. American Zoologist, 41 (5): 1135-1142. | |
| Hill P S M. 2008. Vibrational Communication in Animals [M]. Harvard University Press. | |
| Hrouzková E, Dvo?áková V, Jedli?ka P, ?umbera R. 2013. Seismic communication in demon African mole rat Tachyoryctes daemon from Tanzania [J]. Journal of Ethology, 31: 255-259. | |
| Hrouzková E, ?klíba J, Ple?tilová L, Hua L M, Meheretu Y, Sillero?Zubiri C, ?umbera R. 2018. Seismic communication in spalacids: signals in the giant root?rat and Gansu zokor [J]. Hystrix, 29 (2): 243-245. | |
| Iheanacho F, Vellipuram A R. 2024. Physiology, Mechanoreceptors [M]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. | |
| Kashash Y, Smarsh G, Zilkha N, Yovel Y, Kimchi T. 2022. Alone, in the dark: the extraordinary neuroethology of the solitary blind mole rat [J]. Elife, 11: e78295. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.78295 . | |
| Kimchi T, Reshef M, Terkel J. 2005. Evidence for the use of reflected self?generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal [J]. Journal of Experimental Biology, 208 (4): 647-659. | |
| Kimchi T, Terkel J. 2004. Comparison of the role of somatosensory stimuli in maze learning in a blind subterranean rodent and a sighted surface?dwelling rodent [J]. Behavioural Brain Research, 153 (2): 389-395. | |
| Lacey E A. 2000. Life Underground: the Biology of Subterranean Rodents [M]. University of Chicago Press. | |
| Mason M J, Lai F W S, Li J G, Nevo E. 2010a. Middle ear structure and bone conduction in Spalax, Eospalax, and Tachyoryctes mole?rats (Rodentia: Spalacidae) [J]. Journal of Morphology, 271 (4): 462-472. | |
| Mason M J, Narins P M. 2010b. Seismic sensitivity and communication in subterranean mammals [A]. In: O?Connell-Rodwell C E ed. The Use of Vibrations in Communication: Properties, Mechanisms and Function Across Taxa [M]. Kerala: Transworld Research Network, 121-139. | |
| McIntyre A K. 1980. Biological seismography [J]. Trends in Neurosciences, 3 (9): 202-205. | |
| McKnight G, Shah J, Hargest R. 2022. Physiology of the skin [J]. Surgery (Oxford), 40 (1): 8-12. | |
| Nevo E, Heth G, Pratt H. 1991. Seismic communication in a blind subterranean mammal: a major somatosensory mechanism in adaptive evolution underground [J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 88 (4): 1256-1260. | |
| Nikolaev Y A, Feketa V V, Anderson E O, Schneider E R, Gracheva E O, Bagriantsev S N. 2020. Lamellar cells in Pacinian and Meissner corpuscles are touch sensors [J]. Science Advances, 6 (51): eabe6393. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe6393 . | |
| Piccinin M A, Miao J H, Schwartz J. 2022. Histology, Meissner Corpuscle [M]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. | |
| Ple?tilová L. 2021.What happens to ear morphology on the way underground? A case study on the family Spalacidae [D]. Ph. D thesis. University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science. | |
| Rado R, Himelfarb M, Arensburg B, Terkel J, Wollberg Z. 1989. Are seismic communication signals transmitted by bone conduction in the blind mole rat? [J]. Hearing Research, 41 (1): 23-29. | |
| Rado R, Levi N, Hauser H, Witcher J, Alder N, Intrator N, Wollberg Z, Terkel J. 1987. Seismic signalling as a means of communication in a subterranean mammal [J]. Animal Behaviour, 35 (4): 1249-1251. | |
| Rado R, Terkel J, Wollberg Z. 1998. Seismic communication signals in the blind mole?rat (Spalax ehrenbergi): electrophysiological and behavioral evidence for their processing by the auditory system [J]. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 183: 503-511. | |
| Rossano F, Kaufhold S P. 2021. Animal communication overview [A]. In: Kaufman A B, Josep C, Kaufman J C eds. Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition [M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 5-35. | |
| Sahd L. 2021. The anatomy of seismic signalling: morphological adaptations of the hind limb in drumming and non?drumming African mole?rats (Bathyergidae) [D]. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. | |
| Seyfarth R M, Cheney D L, Bergman T, Fischer J, Zuberbühler K, Hammerschmidt K. 2010. The central importance of information in studies of animal communication [J]. Animal Behaviour, 80 (1): 3-8. | |
| ?klíba J, ?umbera R, Chitaukali W N. 2008. Reactions to disturbances in the context of antipredatory behaviour in a solitary subterranean rodent [J]. Journal of Ethology, 26: 249-254. | |
| Stein R M, Rachlow J L. 2023. Acoustic ecology of terrestrial mammals: a new signaller?receiver conceptual framework [J]. Mammal Review, 53: 143-157. | |
| Suazo I, Vega J A, García?Mesa Y, García?Piqueras J, García?Suárez 1 O, Cobo T. 2022. The lamellar cells of vertebrate meissner and pacinian corpuscles: development, characterization, and functions [J]. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16: 790130. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.790130 . | |
| Sumbera R, Burda H, Chitaukali W N. 2003. Reproductive biology of a solitary subterranean bathyergid rodent, the silvery mole?rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus) [J]. Journal of Mammalogy, 84 (1): 278-287. | |
| Tomecek S M. 2009. Animal Communication [M]. Infobase Publishing, 35-47. | |
| Ugarteburu M, Withnell R H, Cardoso L, Carriero A, Richter C P. 2022. Mammalian middle ear mechanics: a review [J]. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10: 983510. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.983510 . | |
| Wang L, Zhou H, Zhang M M, Liu W H, Deng T, Zhao Q C, Li Y R, Lei J L, Li X M, Xiao B L. 2019. Structure and mechanogating of the mammalian tactile channel PIEZO2 [J]. Nature, 573 (7773): 225-229. | |
| Wei L W. 2016. A neuromorphic approach to tactile perception [D]. National University of Singapore. | |
| Zhang Y M, Zhang Z B, Liu J K. 2003. Burrowing rodents as ecosystem engineers: the ecology and management of plateau zokors Myospalax fontanierii in alpine meadow ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau [J]. Mammal Review, 33 (3-4): 284-294. | |
| 卫万荣, 张灵菲, 张小刚, 张卫国. 2016. 穴居鼠通讯方式及通讯功能研究进展 [J]. 草地学报, 24 (2): 278-285. | |
| 李金钢, 王廷正, 何建平, 闵一建. 2001. 甘肃鼢鼠的震动通讯 [J]. 兽类学报, 21 (2): 153-154, 152. | |
| 张飞宇, 周建伟, 花立民. 2019. 穴居啮齿动物震动信号的意义及研究展望 [J]. 四川动物, 38 (4): 464-471. | |
| 周建伟, 花立民, 左松涛, 苏军虎, 王巧玲. 2013. 高原鼢鼠栖息地的选择 [J].草业科学, 30 (4): 647-653. | |
| 周建伟, 张飞宇, 楚彬, 董克池, 花立民. 2020. 高原鼢鼠震动通讯方式及信号研究 [J].草原与草坪, 40 (4): 54-60. | |
| 董克池, 侍俊杰, 周建伟, 花立民. 2021. 高原鼢鼠震动信号发生部位及室内信号特征分析 [J]. 草原与草坪, 41 (1): 49-54. |
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |
青公网安备 63010402000199号
青ICP备05000010号-2
