The giant golden mole (''Chrysospalax trevelyani'') is a small mammal found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. At in length, it is the largest of the

golden mole Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, f ...

species. This

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

has dark, glossy brown fur; the name ''golden'' comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word for green-gold, also the source of the name of the family,

Chrysochloridae Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals Endemism, endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are Taxonomy (biology), taxonomically dis ...

Characteristics

The giant golden mole has a subterranean lifestyle. It has large claws around long and across the base, powerful forelimbs, no external tail or ears, wedge-shaped head, leather pad, and skin covering the eyes. It is approximately in length and in weight. Its skin is dark and brown on the upper parts and faded on the underparts, sometimes with a darker line down the mid-throat. Its coloration is slightly darker on the head, with two dull yellow patches where the eyes would be, and a yellow patch around the ear openings. Its hair is longer and coarser than any other species of golden mole: about long, thick, with dense, woolly underfur.

Biology

The largest, rarest, and most endangered of all 17 species of golden moles, the giant golden mole spends most of its time underground and is blind and

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, hunting mostly at night, but also in some cool and cloudy daytime conditions. It is

solitary Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to: * ''Solitary'' (album), 2008 album by Don Dokken * ''Solitary'' (2020 film), a British sci-fi thriller film * ''Solitary'' (upcoming film), an American drama film * "S ...

; it does not form groups, despite some social behavior such as hibernating in others' burrows among the roots of trees in winter, only moving slightly to keep its body temperature in range and twitching to maintain body temperature while sleeping. Female giant golden moles give birth to one or two offspring at a time while it has stocks of food supply. The acanthocephalan '' Heptamegacanthus niekerki'' has been found parasitizing the giant golden mole by attaching to the wall of the rectum.

Diet

The giant golden mole digs semi-permanent tunnels about in length linked by surface runways for hunting food and may feed on the surface hiding in the leaf litter. It eats mainly

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...

s and giant earthworms, but also

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es,

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s, and

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

Habitat

The giant golden mole is a subterranean small

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

, living in chambers and passages underneath a very specific habitat, forests with soft soil, deep leaf litter layers, and well-developed undergrowth. The giant golden mole is endemic to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, mostly in a restricted area in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Population

Status

The giant golden mole was classified as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

(EN) in 2010 on

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

of Threatened Species. The population is decreasing due to habitat loss resulting mainly from human activities affecting its habitat such as firewood collection, bark stripping, cutting for construction,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

of livestock, and clearance of forest. Moreover, the giant golden mole is preyed on by

domestic dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. T ...

in that area.

Conservation

The giant golden mole currently receives little protection, and is not a main conservation target. Research is needed to protect this species and to assess the status and viability of the remaining populations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765489 Afrosoricida Endemic fauna of South Africa Mammals of South Africa Mammals described in 1875 Taxa named by Albert Günther