The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current 'myths' in naked mole-rat biology.

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) has fascinated zoologists for at least half a century. It has also generated considerable biomedical interest not only because of its extraordinary longevity, but also because of unusual protective features (e.g.

Molecular systematics of the species complex: a contribution from historical DNA analysis.

The Tianshan birch mouse is an endemic of the Central Asian mountains and has previously been shown to include several karyomorphs ("Terskey", "Talgar", "Dzungar"); however, the taxonomic status of these forms has remained uncertain. We examined the genetic variation in based on historical DNA samples from museum collections, including the type series. Mitochondrial and nuclear data indicated that the species complex includes two major clades: Northern (N) and Southern (S) ( distance 13%).