Cape Dune Mole Rat - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Cape dune mole rat is one of only two living species of the genus Bathyergus, along with the Namaqua dune mole rat. Both living species may have evolved from Bathyergus hendeyi, an extinct species rather smaller than the living forms, which inhabited the Cape Province region of South Africa during the early Pliocene, around four million years ago. Because of the large numbers of fossils found together, it has been suggested that this early species was social, like most other blesmols, but unlike its presumed living descendants; however, other possible explanations for this taphonomy exist.

There are currently no recognised subspecies of Cape dune mole rat, although there have been few detailed studies of their genetic variability. It is possible that the species can hybridise with the Namaqua dune mole rat, with some suspected hybrids having been recovered from the Groenrivier region, where the two species live relatively close together.