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Moles are small, subterranean mammals. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous eyes and ears, [1] reduced hindlimbs, and short, powerful forelimbs with large paws adapted for digging. The word "mole" most commonly refers to many species in the family Talpidae (which are named after the Latin word for mole, talpa). [2]
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the sand puppy, [6] is a burrowing rodent native to the Horn of Africa and parts of Kenya, notably in Somali regions. It is closely related to the blesmols and is the only species in the genus Heterocephalus .
The common mole-rat, African mole-rat, or Hottentot mole-rat, (Cryptomys hottentotus) is a burrowing rodent found in Southern Africa, in particular in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It also occurs in Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is a species in the subfamily Bathyerginae. [2]
The family Talpidae [1] (/ ˈ t æ l p ɪ d iː /) includes the true moles (as well as the shrew moles and desmans) who are small insectivorous mammals of the order Eulipotyphla. Talpids are all digging animals to various degrees: moles are completely subterranean animals; shrew moles and shrew-like moles somewhat less so; and desmans, while basically aquatic, excavate dry sleeping chambers ...
Mole-rat or mole rat can refer to several groups of burrowing Old World rodents: Bathyergidae, a family of about 20 hystricognath species in six genera from Africa also called blesmols. Heterocephalus glaber, the naked mole-rat. Spalacidae, a family of about 30 muroid species in six genera from Eurasia and northeast Africa, including:
Voles are small rodents that grow to 8–23 cm (3–9 in), depending on the species. Females can have five to ten litters per year, though with an average lifespan of three months and requiring one month to adulthood, two litters is the norm. [1] Gestation lasts for three weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month.
The closely related subfamily Spalacinae consists of mole-like rodents found in Africa and the Middle East; these are also myomorphic rodents. The family Bathyergidae , or African mole-rats (including the well-known naked mole-rat ), belong to the other major division of the rodents, the hystricomorphs.
The Ussuri mole [2] or large mole [1] (Mogera robusta), is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae, formerly treated as a subspecies of the Japanese mole. [3] It is found in China , North Korea , South Korea , and Russia and lives in a long burrow, seldom emerging on the surface of the ground during the day.