Big-headed African mole-rat

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Big-headed african mole rat
Sanetti Plateau, Ethiopia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Spalacidae
Genus: Tachyoryctes
Species:
T. macrocephalus
Binomial name
Tachyoryctes macrocephalus
Rüppell, 1842
Synonyms

Tachyoryctes hecki Neumann & Rümmler 1928

The big-headed African mole rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus), also known as the giant root-rat, Ethiopian African mole rat, or giant mole rat, is a rodent species in the family Spalacidae.[2] It is

habitat loss.[1] Where the two species overlap, it is the main prey of the endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis).[3]

Big-headed African mole rats are highly distinctive in their large size, especially that of their heads. They are a mottled golden-brown in color, and are soft-furred.[3]

While the other mole rats not only live but also feed underground, this species mostly forages above ground, by digging a new tunnel to a patch of herbage. It forages for about 20 minutes, until it has exhausted the supply of herbs about its tunnel, after which it blocks the tunnel it has built from the inside. It mostly eats grasses and herbs, with some individuals feeding mostly on roots.

incisors large enough to severely injure potential predators.[3]

References

Wikispecies has information related to Tachyoryctes.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tachyoryctes macrocephalus.
  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T21293A22276163.en
    . Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. OCLC 62265494
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-691-08560-9
    .
  4. JSTOR 3503827
    .
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