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The African crested rat looks adorable, but its fur is packed with lethal poison—just milligrams can kill a human. New study discovered they also have a rich social life.@NationalZoo @museumsofkenya @UUtah @MDeniseDearing @SaraBWeinstein doi.org/10.1093/jmamma… 📷StephanieHiggins 
People in East Africa have known the rat to be poisonous but its source was mysterious. A 2011 paper proposed these rabbit-sized rodents sequester toxins from the poison arrow tree Acokanthera schimperi. They’re the only #mammals to use plant toxins for defense.
The 2011 study hypothesized that the rats chew Acokanthera bark and lick the plant toxins into specialized hairs at the center of these stripes. In the photo, the larger, porous center hair is poisonous, compared to the normal ones in the background. PC: @SaraBWeinstein @UUtah
