Skip to main content

Giant Golden Mole

Chrysospalax trevelyani
Oh Classification, you can be so confusing, and so contentious! Moles. Burrowing, insectivorous animals that have tiny or no eyes and giant claws. You'd think they'd all be closely related, right? Nope. There are actually True Moles, Marsupial Moles, and Golden Moles. They all belong to completely different orders and are examples of what convergent evolution can do!

Today's animal, the Giant Golden Mole is (unsurprisingly) one of the Golden Moles. This group of 21 species is found only in southern Africa, and the Giant itself is endemic to the nation of South Africa. They belong to the same Order as the Tenrecs, which itself is part of that odd hodgepodge Superorder known as Afrotheria. That's right, the Giant Golden Mole is technically more related to Manatees and Elephants than it is to the True Moles. Weird how that all works out!

Giant Golden Moles are not, in fact, golden. Their fur is a dark brown. They have powerful front claws and shovel-like back claws that let them scoop out dirt behind them white digging, and they have no external eyes or ears... though they do have a weird leathery pad that protects their nostrils while they dig. In short, they are very well adapted to living underground. Though interestingly, they don't live exclusively under the earth like others of their type; at night they forage for insects and other invertebrates inside of the surface leaf litter! Giant Golden Moles also have the distinction of being the only Golden Mole with any real semblance of a social structure. While they are mostly solitary, they have been observed hibernating in groups.

Giant Golden Moles are becoming quite rare, and are extinct in many localities. They need to live in very specific habitats, namely forested areas with deep leaf litter, soft soil, and a generous amount of undergrowth. Artificial forests and farmlands will not do for these little guys, and as a result they are losing their habitat and becoming incredibly fragmented. There are currently no specific conservation actions underway for the Giant Golden Mole, though they may occur in a few protected reserve areas.

IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : South Africa
Size : Body length up to 9in (23cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Afrosoricida
Family : Chrysochloridae -- Genus : Chrysospalax -- Species : C. trevelyani

Comments

  1. Gosh! I knew about Golden Moles but I had no idea there was one that wasn't actually golden. It looks even more like a normal mole.

    Blog is looking great, by the way!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed Location :   Cent