---
title: "What the sources say about the Golden Mole | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "32 claims from the Golden Mole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Golden Mole (*Eremitalpa granti*)

> 32 claims from the Golden Mole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Golden Mole](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/golden-mole/)

## Eremitalpa granti (Grant's golden mole). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eremitalpa_granti/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| with no visible eyes | Grant's desert golden moles lack external eyes |
| Coastal sand dunes from South Africa's southwestern Cape and Little Namaqualand north into the Namib Desert in Namibia | inhabiting southwestern Cape Province and Little Namaqualand in South Africa northward to the Namib Desert in Namibia ... They are confined to white coastal sand dunes |
| Mostly termites, plus crickets, beetles, ants, moths, spiders, mealybugs, web-footed geckos and legless lizards | Termites, Psammotermes allocercus, constitute the majority of its diet. Other invertebrates it consumes are crickets, beetles, ants, moths, spiders, and mealybugs |
| Grant's golden mole doesn't maintain a permanent tunnel, because the sand it burrows through collapses behind it. | does not maintain a permanent tunnel system like most moles because the sand it burrows through collapses behind it. |
| Many therefore consider it a sand swimmer, one that digs a new burrow each time it moves. | Therefore, it is considered by many to be a sand swimmer, constructing new burrows each time it moves. |
| a head and body length of 70 to 85 mm and a mass of 16 to 32 g | head and body length and mass ranging from 70 to 85 mm and 16 to 32 g, respectively |
| males running larger than females | males averaging 73.5 mm and 25.3 g, and females averaging 66.8 mm and 19.8 g ... Sexual Dimorphism male larger |
| It has no external eyes: the eyelids fuse at a young age, and the skin covering the eyes then thickens. | Grant's desert golden moles lack external eyes, the eyelids fusing at a young age with the skin covering the eyes then increasing in thickness. |
| It forages at night, running across the dune surface and periodically dipping beneath it to locate prey by vibration | Foraging occurs at night on the surface. Grant's desert golden moles' foraging behavior consists of running on the surface of dunes and periodically dipping underneath the surface using its seismic sensitivity to detect the location of prey. |
| some individuals have been known to travel up to 5,800 m while foraging | Some individuals have been known to travel up to 5800 m while foraging. |
| Termites make up more than half of its diet | termites constitute more than 50% of the mole's diet |
| topped up with crickets, beetles, ants, moths, spiders, mealybugs, web-footed geckos and legless lizards | Other invertebrates it consumes are crickets, beetles, ants, moths, spiders, and mealybugs ... also eats the web-footed gecko, Pelmatogecko rangei, and legless lizards |
| stretching from South Africa's southwestern Cape and Little Namaqualand north into the Namib Desert of Namibia | inhabiting southwestern Cape Province and Little Namaqualand in South Africa northward to the Namib Desert in Namibia |
| are one of the driest habitats in the world | Grant's golden moles dwell in one of the driest and least productive habitats in the world. They are confined to white coastal sand dunes |
| By day it burrows 50 cm down into the sand and enters torpor, lowering its metabolism to reduce its energy demands. | During the day, E. granti burrows to depths of 50 cm and there enters a daily torpor ... E. granti does not regulate its body, but lowers its metabolism, thus reducing its energy demands. |
| Its nightly surface foraging often exposes it to predators, including spotted eagle-owls, barn owls, and domestic cats and dogs. | Due to the nocturnal surface foraging of E. granti, it is often exposed to nocturnal predators ... Known Predators African spotted eagle-owls (Bubo africanus) barn owls (Tyto alba) domestic cats (Felis silvestris) domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) |
| Loose sand caves in behind it, so unlike most moles it keeps no tunnel system. It digs a new burrow each time it moves. | does not maintain a permanent tunnel system like most moles because the sand it burrows through collapses behind it ... constructing new burrows each time it moves. |
| weightKg: 0.024 | with a head and body length and mass ranging from 70 to 85 mm and 16 to 32 g, respectively (note: battleStats (settle #880); midpoint of the range, between the male (25.3 g) and female (19.8 g) averages) |
| tags: subterranean | Grant’s desert golden moles lack external eyes, the eyelids fusing at a young age with the skin covering the eyes then increasing in thickness. Their noses terminate in a hard leathery pad which aids in digging (note: tag kept (settle #880): reduced eyes and a digging snout, per the tag definition) |

## Maree (2015). Eremitalpa granti. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T7994A21283661.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-2.rlts.t7994a21283661.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |
| The IUCN currently lists the species as Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Narins et al. (1997). The Use of Seismic Signals by Fossorial Southern African Mammals: A Neuroethological Gold Mine. Brain Research Bulletin.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0361-9230(97)00286-4

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Functionally blind, the mole hunts by vibration. | is a functionally blind, nocturnal insectivore ... the golden mole is able to detect termite colonies and other prey items solely using seismic cues |
| In the Namib, recordings in the sand suggest it can detect termite colonies and other prey using seismic cues alone. | The Namib Desert golden mole (Eremitalpa granti namibensis) ... Both geophone and microphone recordings in the substrate suggest that the golden mole is able to detect termite colonies and other prey items solely using seismic cues. |
| Its malleus, one of the tiny bones inside the middle ear, is hypertrophied, an adaptation for picking up low-frequency signals. | This animal exhibits a hypertrophied malleus, an adaptation favoring detection of low-frequency signals. |

## Mason & Narins (2002). Seismic sensitivity in the desert golden mole (Eremitalpa granti): A review. Journal of Comparative Psychology.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.116.2.158

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Clumps of dune grass, home to its prey, give off low-frequency vibrations that stand out from background noise many meters away, and the mole apparently uses them to orient itself toward the grass. | isolated hummocks of dune grass generate low-frequency vibrations, distinct from the background noise at a distance of many meters. The golden mole apparently uses these cues to orient itself toward the hummocks and the prey species within. |
| By vibration. Field studies in the Namib found that clumps of dune grass, where its prey lives, give off low-frequency vibrations, and its massive malleus suggests an ear adapted to pick up seismic cues like these through bone conduction. | Field studies in the Namib desert have shown that isolated hummocks of dune grass generate low-frequency vibrations ... the hummocks and the prey species within. An analysis of middle ear morphology suggests that the massive malleus of the golden mole is adapted toward a form of inertial bone conduction, suitable for the detection of seismic cues obtained in this manner. |

## Mason et al. (2006). Ossicular density in golden moles (Chrysochloridae). Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0163-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a middle-ear bone denser than any other land mammal's on record | The malleus density of the desert golden mole Eremitalpa granti (2.44 g/cm3) was found to be higher than that reported in the literature for any other terrestrial mammal (note: "denser" for "higher [density]" is the same measurement; "on record" carries "reported in the literature") |
| A middle-ear malleus denser than any other land mammal's on record, expected to boost the bone conduction it uses to detect seismic vibrations | The malleus density of the desert golden mole Eremitalpa granti (2.44 g/cm3) was found to be higher than that reported in the literature for any other terrestrial mammal ... This high density is expected to augment inertial bone conduction, used for the detection of seismic vibrations |
| The mole's malleus has been measured at 2.44 grams per cubic centimetre, denser than the equivalent bone in any other land mammal on record. | The malleus density of the desert golden mole Eremitalpa granti (2.44 g/cm3) was found to be higher than that reported in the literature for any other terrestrial mammal |
| The ear bones of other golden mole species are not unusually dense. | whereas the ossicles of other golden mole species are not unusually dense |

## Fielden, Perrin & Hickman (1990). Water metabolism in the Namib Desert Golden Mole, Eremitalpa granti namibensis (Chrysochloridae). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0300-9629(90)90070-9

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In the Namib it can survive on an insect diet without drinking water: efficient kidneys make that possible, and low energy use and torpor cut how much water it needs. | examined the ability of Namib Desert moles to survive on an insect diet without drinking water ... Water independence is achieved through efficient renal function while low rates of energy usage and torpor are further effective in reducing overall water requirements. |
| Efficient kidneys. Studies of Namib moles credit renal function for their independence from drinking water, with low energy use and torpor trimming their needs further. | Water independence is achieved through efficient renal function while low rates of energy usage and torpor are further effective in reducing overall water requirements. |