Geographic Range
Rough-haired golden moles are found in different regions scattered throughout South
Africa. They have been recorded in the eastern most provinces of the country; the
Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.
Habitat
Rough-haired golden moles can only survive in a narrow niche. They live in densely
vegetated grasslands, meadows, and edges of marshes. They live in light, sandy soil,
and are not found in heavy soils, such as mud or clay. Some rough-haired golden moles
have been recorded around the edges of golf courses and suburban gardens.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- Other Habitat Features
- suburban
- agricultural
Physical Description
Rough-haired golden moles are the second largest
golden moles
, with only giant golden moles (
Chrysospalax trevelyani
) being larger. They are 125 to 175 mm long. Males weigh 108 to 160 grams, and females
weigh slightly less, averaging 90 to 140 grams. As the name implies, rough-haired
golden moles have extremely coarse hair. Their color may range from yellow to gray-brown
or dark gray. The ventral hair is lighter in color than the dorsal hair. The dorsal
guard coat hairs can be up to 21 mm long. The undercoat is dense and is dark gray.
They have four digits on their forelimbs. The third digit has the longest claw that
is 15 to 17 mm long. Digits one and two have smaller claws and digit four is reduced
to 1.5 mm. Rough-haired golden moles and giant golden moles both have more slender
claws than other golden moles. There is a membranous skin between the digits to aid
in pushing soil. No species of
golden mole
has a tail. They have no external ears, just an opening, and their eyes are covered
by skin and fur. They also had a horny pad on their noses used for turning up soil
in foraging.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Information about the mating systems or rituals of rough-haired golden moles is not
known at this time. However, congeneric giant golden moles have a mating ritual in
which males chirp and bob their heads at females.
Little is known about reproduction in rough-haired golden moles. It is thought that
they breed in winter, as do most other
golden moles
. Only one pregnant female has been recorded, she was carrying two young.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
Though information about parental care of young before independence is not known,
female rough-haired golden moles have two sets of mammae and nurse and nurture their
young, as do other mammals.
- Parental Investment
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
There is no information in the literature about the lifespan of rough-haired golden
moles.
Behavior
Rough-haired golden moles spend most of their time underground in burrows. They rest
in chambers and passages that are accessible by tunnels. Tunnels are either made by
the moles themselves or by fossorial rodents and then adopted by moles. Tunnels are
30 to 70 cm long and have two entrances. The construction of multiple entrances is
thought to help with protection. If the animals are alarmed they have multiple routes
to safety. Rough-haired golden moles only come out of their borrows at night and after
rain to forage.
Home Range
Information about the home range size of rough-haired golden moles is not available.
Communication and Perception
Rough-haired golden moles are known for their incredible sense of orientation and
direction. When they feel threatened, they can quickly and easily find the entrance
to their burrows, despite being blind. They are extremely sensitive to surface disturbances,
which helps them sense danger and locate food. The physiology behind these senses
has not yet been studied. Since rough-haired golden moles are blind, they probably
use their other senses to communicate with one another.
- Perception Channels
- tactile
- acoustic
- vibrations
- chemical
Food Habits
Rough-haired golden moles are insectivores. They forage above ground at night after
rainfall. They use their noses to turn up soil to look for termites and earthworms.
It has been proposed that they also forage underground in their burrows during long
droughts.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- Foraging Behavior
- stores or caches food
Predation
It is likely that rough-haired golden moles are prey for larger carnivorous mammals
and snakes.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
By eating earthworms, mites, and insects, rough haired golden moles are a valuable
predator in their ecosystems. They also share with and use tunnels dug by blesmols
(
Georychus capensis
). One ectoparasitic species was also recorded on rough-haired golden moles in the
1940's.
- blesmols ( Georychus capensis )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Rough haired golden moles help control insect pest populations by feeding on them.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Rough-haired golden moles have been found on golf courses and in suburban gardens.
They have been blamed for destroying crops and gardens through their burrowing activities.
- Negative Impacts
- crop pest
Conservation Status
Rough-haired golden moles are threatened by urbanization, mining, and agricultural
practices. They are losing their habitat due to these industrial practices as well
as overgrazing by agricultural animals.
Additional Links
Contributors
Terra Carter (author), University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, Christopher Yahnke (editor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- suburban
-
living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- fossorial
-
Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- stores or caches food
-
places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding"
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
References
Bronner, G. 2013. Chyrsospalax villosus. Pp. 246-250 in Mammals of Africa , Vol. 1, 1 Edition. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Jackson, C., T. Setsaas, M. Robertson, M. Scantlebury, N. Bennett. 2009. Insights into torpor and behavioral thermoregulation of the endangered Juliana's golden mole. Journal of Zoology , 278: 299-307.
Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World Sixth Edition . Baltimore, Maryland, USA: The John Hopkins University Press.
Skinner, J. 2005. The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion . Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zeimet, R. 2007. "Chrysospalax trevelyani" (On-line). Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 30, 2014 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Chrysospalax_trevelyani/#7c2166d594008afeea58e8045e14f90e .
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 2013. "Chrysospalax villosus" (On-line). INCU Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed April 18, 2014 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/4829/0 .