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. The systematic research into adaptations of subterranean dwellers is only about two decades old, but it has rapidly intensified within the last few years, bringing insight into many aspects of the biology and evolution at different organization levels.

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. The systematic research into adaptations of subterranean dwellers is only about two decades old, but it has rapidly intensified within the last few years, bringing insight into many aspects of the biology and evolution at different organization levels.