Cape Dune Molerat (Bathyergus suillus) lives in sand dunes across Southern Africa. It feeds on roots and tubers. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Cape Dune Molerat
- The Cape dune mole-rat is the largest blesmol, with a head-body length of 27 to 35 cm and a short tail only 3 to 4 cm long. Males can weigh up to 1 350 g while females are usually between 590 and 970 g, giving the species a noticeably bulkier build than its relatives. Its whole body is covered in a thick, cinnamon-brown fur that insulates it despite a relatively low body temperature of about 35 °C.
- Each individual lives in a completely sealed burrow system that never reaches the surface, extending anywhere from 50 to 420 m and covering roughly 0.27 ha of underground space. Most tunnels lie 35 to 65 cm below ground, but some blind-ending passages plunge as deep as 2 m, allowing the mole-rat to flee predators such as mole snakes and then block the tunnel behind it. The network stays humid and hypoxic, protecting the animal from extreme weather above ground.
- A Cape dune mole-rat can move up to 500 kg of sand in a single month when conditions are ideal, using its powerful clawed forefeet to kick sand backwards and push it up as a mole-hill. Because the loose, sandy soils of its coastal habitat are unsuitable for tooth-driven digging, this claw-based method lets it excavate the long tunnel networks that may reach 420 m in length.
- Unlike most blesmols, it digs mainly with its powerful clawed forefeet, kicking sand back and forming molehills. In its loose, sandy coastal soils the animal can move as much as 500 kg of sand in a month when conditions are ideal, pushing the displaced material up to the surface. The tunnels it creates stretch between 50 m and 420 m and cover about 0.27 ha, with most passages 35-65 cm below ground.
- When ready to mate, individuals drum on the burrow floor with their hind legs, then lock incisors together. This courtship takes place during the breeding season from April to November, when rain is plentiful and the animals are most active underground. After the incisor lock the female raises her tail and calls, signalling that copulation can begin. The ritual ensures both partners are in close proximity within their sealed tunnel network.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthern Africa
HabitatSand dunes
DietRoots and tubers
About the Cape Dune Molerat
In the scorching dunes of South Africa, the Cape Dune Molerat emerges as a subterranean sculptor, its powerful front legs and long claws excavating intricate networks of tunnels with relentless industry. As it moves through the sandy darkness, its sensitive whiskers twitching like antennae, this unassuming rodent navigates a hidden world of narrow burrows and snug chambers. With each fresh excavation, the molerat reshapes its desert realm, a testament to the quiet ingenuity of a creature that has adapted to life beneath the burning sands.
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