Mammal survival at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary: metabolic homeostasis in prolonged tropical hibernation in tenrecs.

Free-ranging common tenrecs, Tenrec ecaudatus, from sub-tropical Madagascar, displayed long-term (nine months) hibernation which lacked any evidence of periodic interbout arousals (IBAs). IBAs are the dominant feature of the mammalian hibernation phenotype and are thought to periodically restore long-term ischaemia damage and/or metabolic imbalances (depletions and accumulations). However, the lack of IBAs in tenrecs suggests no such pathology at hibernation Tbs > 22°C.

The energetics of a Malagasy rodent, Macrotarsomys ingens (Nesomyinae): a test of island and zoogeographical effects on metabolism.

This study provides first insights into the energetics of the Nesomyinae, a subfamily of rodents endemic to Madagascar. The ancestral nesomyine colonized Madagascar from Africa ca. 30-15 mya at the onset of Oligocene global cooling.

Effects of reproductive status and high ambient temperatures on the body temperature of a free-ranging basoendotherm.

Tenrecs (Order Afrosoricida) exhibit some of the lowest body temperatures (T b) of any eutherian mammal. They also have a high level of variability in both active and resting T bs and, at least in cool temperatures in captivity, frequently employ both short- and long-term torpor. The use of heterothermy by captive animals is, however, generally reduced during gestation and lactation.