The Cape golden mole (''Chrysochloris asiatica'') is a small,

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

of the family Chrysochloridae, the

golden mole Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all ...

s. The species is a solitary subterranean insectivore, confined to the coastal regions of the southwestern and southern Cape in South Africa. When foraging for soil invertebrates, these golden moles excavate superficial burrows using their conical nose shield and highly modified forefeet. Females are smaller than males. Golden moles have very dense, soft, and silky coats. The coats are colored blackish to slaty-grey and brown to pale fawn. They have also been observed to venture onto sandy beaches, presumably to feed on amphipods and isopods occurring there.

References

External links

Manyeleti Private Game Reserve - description of golden moles
* Endemic fauna of South Africa Afrosoricida Mammals of South Africa Least concern biota of Africa Mammals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{afrosoricida-stub