Giant Mole Rat
| Giant Mole Rat | ||||||||||||
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Giant Mole Rat |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tachyoryctes macrocephalus | ||||||||||||
| Rüppel , 1842 |
The giant mole rat ( Tachyoryctes macrocephalus ), also known as the African mole rat , is a large representative of the rodent order. The body length is between 18 and 31 centimeters, the tail length is 5 to 10 centimeters. The weight of the individual animals can be from 350 grams to 1 kilogram.
Appearance
These animals have a gray-brown, short fur. With their rounded heads, strong build, short legs and ears, they are more reminiscent of moles than mice. Although the eyes are very small, these animals have good eyesight. Their large, strong, orange-colored incisors serve both to divide up the food and as a digging aid.
Way of life
They live underground in self-dug burrows. Only small molehills can be seen on the surface of the earth . They are both diurnal and nocturnal and feed on parts of plants that they find both above and below ground. The corridors of a single building can extend up to 50 meters. Although the individual structures can be close together, the giant mole rats are solitary animals and tolerate conspecifics only during the mating season.
distribution
This species is in the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia endemic . There she lives in grassy areas at an altitude of 3000 to 4150 meters.
Reproduction
The female gives birth to 1 to 2 young twice a year. You will be suckled for up to 4 weeks. Then the boys leave the maternal den. At the age of 6 months they are sexually mature themselves.
Hazards and protective measures
The IUCN classifies this species as Endangered , as it occurs only in a very limited area. In addition, the livestock industry severely curtails the suitable habitat for this species. The Bale Mountains National Park serves to protect the species .
literature
- Philip Whitfield (ed.): The great world empire of animals Pages: 168,169 (German translation from English) Publisher: Planet Medien AG, Zug 1992. ISBN 3-8247-8614-1
- David Burnie (Ed.), Mariele Radmacher-Martens: Animals: The large picture encyclopedia with over 2,000 species. Translated from the English by Gabriele Lehari. Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-8310-2232-8 , p. 123.
Web links
- Tachyoryctes macrocephalus inthe IUCN 2017-3 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Lavrenchenko, L. & Kennerley, R., 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2018.