Chanel et al_JEB_Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae locomotor activity data

We investigated the sensitivity of the circadian system of a subterranean animal. These animals spend their entire lives underground and are therefore not exposed to light frequently. Initially it was believed that mole-rats are blind, but research showed that they are able to entrain to light but that they are probably less sensitive to light compared to aboveground dwelling rodents. Previously we found that a solitary mole-rat species entrains its rhythms to light, but it shows the same response to differing light intensities. Here we show that the social highveld mole-rat became increasingly more active as the light intensity diminished, while the daily activity becomes less structured. Our results are significant because it shows that light masks activity in the social highveld mole-rat and that their circadian systems or components thereof are less sensitive to light compared to the solitary species.