The northeast African mole-rat (''Tachyoryctes splendens'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Spalacidae The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, m ...

and is found in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, and northwest

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s, dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, high-altitude

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

. It lives a solitary existence underground and produces a small litter of pups twice a year, in the two rainy seasons. Some taxonomic authorities lump this species, along with a number of others in the genus, in which case the English name

East African mole-rat East African mole-rat has been split into the following species: * Northeast African mole-rat, ''Tachyoryctes splendens'' * Ankole African mole-rat, ''Tachyoryctes ankoliae'' * Mianzini African mole-rat The Mianzini mole-rat or Mianzini African ...

is used.

Distribution and habitat

The northeast African mole-rat is native to upland areas of Ethiopia, Somalia, and northwest Kenya. It is found at elevations of up to in Ethiopia and up to in other parts of its range. It is an adaptable species and able to live in a range of habitats including savanna, moist tropical forest, agricultural land, pasture, coffee plantations and gardens.

Behaviour

The northeast African mole-rat is a

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

species and lives a solitary life in a network of burrows. African mole-rats mainly use their bulging teeth, nose, and top of their head to dig channels underground. Some researchers found that their

olfactory The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...

systems have increased surface area and are highly complex, an evolved trait that may have occurred due to their lifestyle of living in a community with less individuals. Female mole-rats become sexually mature at about 120 days and the average time between successive litters is around 173 days. The average size of litters is about two. The arrival of the young is synchronized with the middle of the rainy seasons which occur from April to July and again from November to December. Sometimes areas where this mole-rat lives can become flooded. Tests have shown that when this happens, the northeast African mole-rat can swim for two minutes or more, walk overground for up to at per minute and dig a new burrow. The researchers

hypothesized A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess or thoug ...

that flooding might encourage the animal to

disperse Disperse was a Christian rock band from Southern Indiana active from 1996 to 2004. The band was formerly known, with an adjusted roster, as "Stuff." Members (as of 2004 dispersion) :Chelsey Pieratt - Vocals :Chris Billings - Lead Guitar :And ...

to new areas and that the wet ground would make digging the new burrow easier. They can produce seismic signals by striking its head against the ceiling of their tunnels to communicate. These signals can be fast, probably for identification of individuals, or slow, maybe as a warning.Hrouzková, E., Dvořáková, V., Jedlička, P. ''et al.'' Seismic communication in demon African mole rat ''Tachyoryctes daemon'' from Tanzania. ''J Ethol'' 31, 255–259 (2013) doi:10.1007/s10164-013-0374-0

Status

The northeast African mole-rat is common across most of its range and its population seems stable. It does not face any major threats and for these reasons, the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

lists it as being of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

" in its

Red List of Threatened Species 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 spe ...

, although the IUCN has evaluated the species in the larger view of the East African mole-rat, lumping a number of species in the genus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1763330 Tachyoryctes Mammals of Ethiopia Mammals described in 1835 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot