While the reduction in size saves energy, it comes with a trade-off. It appears to be limited to animals which are very energetic and do not hibernate during the winter, meaning any energy savings would be beneficial to these mammals. The phenomenon has since been seen in a number of small mammals globally, including stoats and weasels. He saw that the skull size of these animals varied by the season, getting smaller during the winter and rebounding afterwards. The findings of the study were published in Royal Society Open Science.ĭehnel's phenomenon is named after Professor August Dehnel, who observed the process taking place in Sorex shrews living in his native Poland in 1949. 'A shrinking and regrowing skull, alongside the brain and other tissues, offer significant possibilities for future applied research.' By shrinking, the animals are believed to have significant energy savings that allow them to endure the extreme cold.ĭr Dina Dechmann, the senior author of the research, says, 'Dehnel's phenomenon offers a unique opportunity to study brain size changes within individuals, and though the common shrew is the classical model, demonstrating it in other animals like the European mole has huge implications.' The scientists have concluded that the phenomenon is a response to cold, wintry temperatures, rather than a lack of food. While this periodic change has been known of for more than 70 years, the exact reasons behind it have remained unclear. European moles can ride out harsh winters by becoming up to 11% smaller.Ī team of German researchers found that the species Talpa europaea is one of a handful that seasonally shrink their bones and organs during a process known as Dehnel's phenomenon.
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