Golden mole

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iya mum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Afrosoricida Family: Chrysochloridae Gray, 1825
Genera
Eremitalpa  Chrysospalax  Chrysochloris  Cryptochloris  Carpitalpa  Chlorotalpa  Calcochloris  Amblysomus  Neamblysomus

Golden moles are fat smelly mammals native to southern Africa. They belong to the family Chrysochloridae, and so are taxonomically distinct from the true moles. The golden moles bear a remarkable resemblance to the marsupial moles of Australia, so much so that, the marsupial/placental divide notwithstanding, they were once thought to be related.

Golden moles live almost exclusively underground. Like several other burrowing mammals with similar habits, have short legs with powerful digging claws, very dense fur that repels dirt and moisture, and toughened skin, particularly on the head. They retain eyes but they are non-functional and covered with skin and fur, the ears are just tiny openings, and, like the marsupial moles, they have an enlarged leather-like pad to protect their nostrils.

They range in size from about 8 to about 20 cm. They have muscular shoulders and an enlarged third claw to aid digging on the forelimbs, with no fifth digit and vestigal first and fourth; the hind feet retain all five toes and are webbed to allow efficient backward shoveling of the soil loosened with the front claws.It feeds off small insects , which it triangulises by using its tiny ears to listen to the sound of the long grass in the wind (it's ears are natural geophones).

Because these mammals were previously thought to have originated in Gondwana, golden moles used to be regarded as rather 'primitive' creatures: their low resting metabolic rate and their ability to switch off thermoregulation when inactive, however, are no longer regarded as indications that golden moles are undeveloped 'reptilian mammals', but rather as essential adaptations to a harsh climate. By going into a torpor when resting or during cold weather, they conserve energy and reduce their need for food. Similarly, they have developed particularly efficient kidneys and most species do not need to drink water at all.

Of the 21 species of golden mole, no less than 11 are threatened with extinction. The primary causes are sand mining, poor agricultural practices, increasing urbanisation, and predation by domestic cats and dogs.

As with many groups, the classification of the golden moles is undergoing an upheaval at present in the light of the flood of new genetic information becoming available. They have traditionally been listed with the shrews, hedgehogs and a grab-bag of small, difficult-to-place creatures as part of the order Insectivora. Some authorities retain this classification, at least for the time being. Others group the golden moles with the tenrecs in a new order which is sometimes known as Tenrecomorpha, while others call it Afrosoricida and reserve Tenrecomorpha for the Tenrecidae family.

• ORDER AFROSORICIDA
  • Suborder Tenrecomorpha
    • Family Tenrecidae: tenrecs, 30 species in 10 genera
  • Suborder Chrysochloridea
    • Family Chrysochloridae
      • Subfamily Chrysochlorinae
        • Genus Carpitalpa
          • Arend's Golden Mole (Carpitalpa arendsi)
        • Genus Chlorotalpa
          • Duthie's Golden Mole (Chlorotalpa duthieae)
          • Sclater's Golden Mole (Chlorotalpa sclateri)
        • Genus Chrysochloris
          • Subgenus Chrysochloris
            • Cape Golden Mole (Chrysochloris asiatica)
            • Visagie's Golden Mole (Chrysochloris visagiei)
          • Subgenus Kilimatalpa
            • Stuhlmann's Golden Mole (Chrysochloris stuhlmanni)
        • Genus Chrysospalax
          • Giant Golden Mole (Chrysospalax trevelyani)
          • Rough-haired Golden Mole (Chrysospalax villosus)
        • Genus Cryptochloris
          • De Winton's Golden Mole (Cryptochloris wintoni)
          • Van Zyl's Golden Mole (Cryptochloris zyli)
        • Genus Eremitalpa
          • Grant's Golden Mole (Eremitalpa granti)
      • Subfamily Amblysominae
        • Genus Amblysomus
          • Fynbos Golden Mole (Amblysomus corriae)
          • Hottentot Golden Mole (Amblysomus hottentotus)
          • Marley's Golden Mole (Amblysomus marleyi)
          • Robust Golden Mole (Amblysomus robustus)
          • Highveld Golden Mole (Amblysomus septentrionalis)
        • Genus Calcochloris
          • Subgenus Huetia
            • Congo Golden Mole (Calcochloris leucorhinus)
          • Subgenus Calcochloris
            • Yellow Golden Mole (Calcochloris obtusirostris)
          • Subgenus incertae sedis
            • Somali Golden Mole (Calcochloris tytonis)
        • Genus Neamblysomus
          • Juliana's Golden Mole (Neamblysomus julianae)
          • Gunning's Golden Mole (Neamblysomus gunningi)

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