Got a rodent problem? Here’s some GNAW-ledge to sink your teeth into!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Doctors Anderson Feijó and Alyssa Stringer at the Field Museum of Natural History gave us a SQUEAK peek into urban evolution.
Skulls of rodents living in Chicago were studied to understand how cities challenge for change. Since the 1890’s, chipmunks’ teeth have gotten smaller, while their bodies got bigger!
Maybe they’re munching on softer human-supplied snacks instead of tough plants. Voles, another common rodent, had less diverse skull shapes, hinting at less genetic change.
That’s evolution happening RIGHT NOW! Nature isn’t just reacting to human impact, it’s evolving alongside us.
Turns out urban landscapes are doing some heavy SKULL-pting!
Reference: Anderson Feijó, Alyssa Stringer, Luna Bian, Stephanie M Smith, Limited cranial shifts in city-dwelling rodents after a century of urbanization, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2025;, icaf081, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaf081