Giant Zambian Mole Rat - Cryptomys meachowi

Habitat:
tropical woodland and savanna
Range:
Congo, northern Zambia and Central Angola
Activity Cycle:
Subterranean-active throughout the day and night
Features:
Light brown fur. Short limbs, cylindrical body (think sausage with hair), and large head. Eyes are small and only detect light and dark. They have large, ever growing and forwardly-directed incisors.
Size:
Sexual dimorphism is present: males weighing up to 600 grams and females up to 350 grams
Social Structure:
Highly social, and lives in colonies containing a single reproductive female, breeding males, and a number of non-breeding workers.
Diet:
Geophytes, roots and some invertebrates
Reproduction:
They have seasonal reproduction, with just one female giving birth. Gestation is about 100 days; Maximum litter size is four; Babies are born dark in color and lighten as they grow
Status:
Not endangered
Interesting Facts:
  • The streamlined body and short limbs allow then to move backwards and forwards with ease in the narrow burrows.
  • The hind feet and tail have stiff hairs that help hold soil when they move it along the burrows.
  • Even though their range of hearing is limited, Giant Zambian Mole-rats have large vocal repertoires.
  • The hair is short, thick and easily reversible, which is helpful when living in a tunnel.
  • Their skin is loose, this lets them shake off dirt and also helps them when turning around in burrows.
  • Stiff tactile hairs are scattered over much of the body. These hairs stick up above the rest of the hair and works like whiskers.
  • They use their incisors like a shovel, excavating burrows by biting the soil.
  • They have strong muscular lips behind their incisors that keep the soil out of their mouth.
  • They sharpen their teeth by grooming the lower incisors against the upper incisors.
  • Living underground, they have developed adaptations: tolerance to high carbon dioxide and low oxygen concentrations and lower body temperatures and resting metabolic rates than most mammals.
  • Some mole-rats have been known to live into their 20s. Scientists are studying naked mole rats to try to figure out their aging secrets.
  • The incisors are on the outside of their mouth, allowing it to work like a shovel and not get dirt in their mouth.

Peoria Zoo