Mole-Rats - Physical Attributes, Living Environment, Social Life
genera species eastern heterocephalus
Mole-rats are small, fossorial rodents, which means they spend their entire lives underground in a sealed burrow system. Native to Africa, these little animals are found from the southernmost tip of the continent to about 10 degrees north of the equator. Mole-rats make up the family Bathyergidae, which includes 12 species in five genera (not to be confused with an unrelated family Spalacidae, containing a single genus living in eastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region). As a group, bathyergid mole-rats have the greatest diversity of both body size and social structure of any subterranean rodent. The species in three genera (Bathyergus, Georychus, and Heliophobus) are completely solitary. The species in the other two genera (Cryptomys and Heterocephalus) are social. The most social of all is also the smallest: weighing in at around 0.8 oz (23 g), the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber). It lives in highly cooperative groups, sharing food, living quarters, and care of the young. At the other end of the spectrum is the solitary Cape dune mole-rat, in which adult males may weigh up to 63 oz (1.8 kg).
Additional Topics
Mole-rats are well-adapted to life underground. Their eyes are much reduced, as is the visual center in the brain, suggesting that sight does not play much of a role in their dark, subterranean environment. In fact, it is not clear whether some mole-rat species can perceive light at all; most keep their eyes closed while going about their underground business, opening them only when alarmed. Their…
In addition to a food chamber, the burrow system also features chambers used for nesting and as a communal toilet. In addition, mole-rats dig deep, blind-ended tunnels they may use to escape enemies or to cool themselves; these tunnels may also function as drains in the event of flooding. Normally, the burrow system is not open to the surface, but is tightly sealed to provide protection against we…
Little is known about courtship and mating in these animals, or about how new burrow systems become established. Individuals of solitary species will defend a territory, fighting viciously with any others it may encounter (perhaps under a rich food patch). Male-female pairs will tolerate each other in the same burrow for a day or so to accomplish mating, but they soon separate. The solitary female…
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