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Breeding male mole-rats (Fukomys) use strong bites to defend reproductive monopoly

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Abstract

Bite force is a simple trait indicating an animal’s performance related to foraging, social dominance, and defence, all of which influence individual reproductive success. We examine the effect of breeding status on bite force in four social species of Fukomys, a genus of subterranean African rodents (Bathyergidae). These species are cooperative breeders, where reproduction is limited typically to a breeding pair. We collected in vivo bite force data, head width, and upper incisors width from 404 individuals from 75 families and tested whether breeders exhibit stronger bite force. We reveal that breeding males of all four species outperform non-breeders, with bite force in non-breeding males and females being 12% and 22% lower, respectively. In contrast, breeding females underperform relative to other categories, with bite force approximately 31% lower than in breeding males, and many are reluctant to bite. Head width and upper incisors width corroborate these findings. We propose that breeding males require a stronger bite force because of repeated competition with non-related males that may try to enter the family. In contrast, there is much less competition for the breeding position among females, as females rarely intrude into established families.

Data availability

The raw data (Supplementary Data 1 and Supplementary Data 2) used to calculate the results and generate the figures presented in this study are available in the Figshare repository, as part of this record: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.2942328898.

Code availability

The R code (Supplementary Data 3) used to calculate the results and generate the figures presented in this study is available in the Figshare repository, as part of this record: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.2942328898.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Helder Gomes Rodrigues, David Gaynor and Kyle Finn for help with data collection and logistics, and Radka Pešková for taking care of experimental animals. We are grateful to Tim H. Clutton-Brock for access to Damaraland mole-rats in the facility at the Kuruman River Reserve supported by European Research Council under the European Union’s 2020 research and innovation programme (Grants No. 742808 and 294494). This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation project no. 20-10222S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Radim Šumbera, Andrea Kraus, Ondřej Mikula, Jan Okrouhlík & Matěj Lövy

  2. Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Mikula

  3. Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany & Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    John Measey

  4. Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Sabine Begall

  5. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Nigel C. Bennett

  6. Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMIS), Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Markus Zöttl

  7. Kalahari Research Centre, Kuruman River Reserve, Van Zylsrus, South Africa

    Markus Zöttl

  8. Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 MECADEV C.N.R.S/M.N.H.N., Paris, France

    Anthony Herrel

Authors

  1. Radim Šumbera
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  2. Andrea Kraus
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  3. Ondřej Mikula
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  4. Jan Okrouhlík
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  5. John Measey
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  6. Sabine Begall
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  7. Nigel C. Bennett
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  8. Markus Zöttl
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  9. Anthony Herrel
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  10. Matěj Lövy
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Contributions

R.Š., A.K. and M.L. conceptualized the study. R.Š., A.K., J.O. and M.L. carried out the investigation, and R.Š., A.K. and M.L. curated the data. O.M. performed the formal analyses and, together with M.L., developed the methodology and prepared the figures. R.Š., A.K., J.M., S.B., N.C.B., M.Z. and A.H. provided resources. R.Š. and M.L. wrote the original draft. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Radim Šumbera.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Communications Biology thanks Frederik Püffel and Helder Gomes Rodrigues for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Michele Repetto. A peer review file is available.

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Šumbera, R., Kraus, A., Mikula, O. et al. Breeding male mole-rats (Fukomys) use strong bites to defend reproductive monopoly.
Commun Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09334-8

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