Silvery mole-rat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silvery mole-rat |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Bathyergidae |
| Genus: | Heliophobius Peters, 1846 |
| Species: |
H. argenteocinereus
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| Binomial name | |
| Heliophobius argenteocinereus Peters, 1846
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The silvery mole-rat, also called the silvery blesmol or silky mole-rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus), is a special kind of mole-rat. It lives in East Africa. You can find it in countries like southern Kenya, Tanzania, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Malawi. These mole-rats prefer to live alone and can be quite feisty. Scientists don't know much about their daily lives or how they behave. The silvery mole-rat is the only species in its group, called Heliophobius. It is a common animal. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it is of "least concern". This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
Contents
What Does the Silvery Mole-Rat Look Like?
This mole-rat is a medium-sized animal. It has soft, silky fur that is silvery-grey. Its head is lighter in color around the eyes, cheeks, and nose. Some silvery mole-rats even have a small white spot on their forehead.
Their long front teeth, called incisors, stick out from their mouths. These teeth are slightly curved. The fur on their back and head is silvery-grey to tan. It can be up to about 1 inch (25 mm) long. Their belly fur is a pale silvery-grey.
The silvery mole-rat's feet and claws are not very big. They are not specially shaped for digging. Their feet are pale and have stiff hairs around the edges of their toes. Their tail is also pale and is very short. It is less than one-tenth the length of their head and body. In Malawi, male silvery mole-rats are about 15% larger than females. However, in other places, males and females are about the same size.
Where Do Silvery Mole-Rats Live?
The silvery mole-rat makes its home in East Africa. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Malawi.
They like to live in open grassy forests. This includes areas with Combretum-Brachystegium woodland trees. They also live in grasslands on mountainsides and on rocky slopes. They can be found at high places, up to about 7,200 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level. Silvery mole-rats can live in different types of soil. They are happy in both sandy soils and dark "cotton" soils.
How Silvery Mole-Rats Live Underground
Like other mole-rats, the silvery mole-rat lives underground. It digs its burrows using its strong front teeth. Most mole-rats, including this species, live alone.
What Silvery Mole-Rats Eat
Silvery mole-rats are vegetarians. They mostly eat roots, bulbs, and corms. They especially like the roots of plants from the bean family, like Dolichos and Vigna species. Vigna is a very important food for them. It often attracts them to an area. Sometimes, they dig into farm fields and eat root crops.
Their Burrow System
Silvery mole-rats find their food by digging long tunnels. These tunnels run close to the surface of the ground. One tunnel was found to be over 300 feet (100 meters) long!
Deeper underground, about 1 foot (30 cm) down, they build a nesting room. This room has a round nest made of grasses, corn husks, and root skins. Even deeper, about 1.5 feet (50 cm) down, they dig an escape tunnel. This is a safe place to hide from danger. They also have special rooms to store food. Other tunnels are dead ends and are used as bathrooms.
Behavior and Reproduction
Silvery mole-rats are very protective of their territory. They are quite aggressive and will chase away other mole-rats. If they feel trapped, they will get into a defensive position. They throw their head back and show their sharp front teeth.
Silvery mole-rats breed at different times of the year. This depends on where they live. The male mole-rat starts the courtship. They can be quite noisy when they are getting to know each other. If the female accepts the male, they face each other. They might gently touch teeth or nibble each other with their long incisors.
A female mole-rat is pregnant for about 87 to 101 days. She usually gives birth to two to five babies at a time.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
