Description
Cape mole rats closely resemble other African mole rats in physical appearance. They have cylindrical bodies with short limbs, and large feet with leathery soles. The head is large and rounded, and the tail is short, with only a few sparse hairs. As with other mole rats, the eyes are very small, and external ears are absent. Adults are around 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in head-body length, with a 2 centimetres (0.79 in) tail, and weigh around 180 grams (6.3 oz). Females have three pairs of teats.
Cape mole rats can most easily be distinguished from other species of mole rat by their fur. This is russet in colour over most of the body, with clearly distinct, silvery-white underparts. The head is darker, sometimes even a charcoal grey shade, with prominent white markings around the ears and eyes, and a smaller amount of white fur on the muzzle. The hair on the feet is also white. Unlike the related Damaraland mole rats, Cape mole rats have no guard hairs, although there are slightly longer stiff hairs around the mouth and feet, and the animals do have stubby whiskers. Lacking guard hairs, the fur is thick and woolly in texture.
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“As they are not seen on their way down the streams, it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period; a tragic feature in the scenery of the river bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)