Across the globe, about 250 species of rodents spend most of their lives in safe and stable, but dark, oxygen-poor and carbon dioxide-rich burrows, deprived of most of the sensory cues available aboveground. They have become fully specialized for a unique way of life in which foraging and breeding take place underground. This book is a comprehensive treatment of the biology, ecology and evolution of subterranean mammals and presents achievements from the last years of research on these rodents. Contributors include forty authors, authorities in their field, from 12 different countries have contributed to the book. This book is a must for all researchers working in this field and will be of interest to zoologists, physiologists, morphologists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists.
From the reviews:
"This book is the result of a symposium entitled 'Light from the underground: Challenges and insights in the third decade of research on subterranean rodents,' held during the International Mammalogical Congress IX in Sapporo ? . provides a set of important tidbits, factoids, pieces of general information, and current hypotheses relevant to the topic at hand. ? Given the broad nature of topics included, the book is a one-stop shopping place for a plethora of knowledge concerning the biology of subterranean rodents." (Robert D. Bradley, Journal of Mammalian Evolution, Vol. 17, March, 2010)
