Appearance
Relatively large rodent- body length of adult individuals is 20-32 cm, weight up to 700 grams or more. The body is elongated, cylindrical, without a pronounced neck. The limbs are greatly shortened, the tail is reduced and hidden under the skin. The head is flattened, wide (wider than any part of the body), and shaped from above to the bayonet of a shovel. The eyes are largely reduced and hidden under the skin. The outer ear is presented in the form of a small cushion hidden under the fur. The nasal section is covered with a bare horny sheath and is usually colored black or brown. The front incisors are large, protruding far beyond oral cavity and clearly visible. The general color of the fur is fawn-gray-brown; there is significant variability in color between individual individuals.
Spreading
Lifestyle
The animal leads an exclusively underground lifestyle, coming to the surface in in rare cases. Creates an extended, highly branched system of burrows, consisting, as a rule, of two tiers, of which the most extensive is the upper “feeding” one, lying at a depth of about 20-25 cm. In addition to the feeding tier, it creates a system of summer and winter nests, as well as food storage facilities, connected by a second, deeper (up to 3-4 meters) tier of passages. When digging tunnels, the mole rat loosens the soil with the help of incisors, then discards it with its paws and subsequently moves it to the soil surface, where characteristic so-called. “Mole rats” are heaps of discarded earth of significant size (about 50 cm in diameter, the weight of discarded earth in one mole rat is about 10 kg). The feeding area of one adult individual is 0.02-0.09 hectares, the length of feeding passages varies widely and can be up to 450 meters or more per individual.
Population densities also vary widely, reaching 20 or more individuals per hectare. In a long-term context, the population density is quite stable and is not subject to sharp fluctuations. The optimal population density is 3 individuals per hectare; if the population drops to 1.8-1.1 individuals per hectare, there is a high risk of population degradation. A change in population size is possible with a significant change in conditions external environment, in particular, negative impact are caused by droughts, periods of increased moisture, as well as plowing of land. Common mole rat- a strictly herbivorous animal, the basis of its nutrition is made up of rhizomes, bulbs and tubers of plants. In spring and early summer, the above-ground parts of plants (stems and leaves) are also actively used for food. The range of forage plants consists of several dozen species, among which Compositae, Umbelliferae and legumes predominate. By winter, the animal makes large (more than 10 kg) reserves.
Mole rat active all year round, does not hibernate, although by winter its activity decreases sharply. On a daily basis, they are most active at night and in the afternoon. Adult individuals live separately, showing strong aggression towards relatives (if it is impossible to retreat, collisions usually end fatal). At the same time, the population has a certain social structure, consisting of family groups (male and 1-2 females), the burrows of which are connected or located nearby. Family groups are stable and disintegrate only with the death of one of the partners. About half of the males live outside family groups, thus being excluded from the breeding process. Mole rats live quite a long time for rodents, average duration generation is 2.5-4 years, some individuals live up to 9 years. The survival rate of young animals is high, about half or more of the individuals.
Reproduction
Every year in family group only one female reproduces; if there are two females in the group, then in the spring the male leaves the area of the breeding female and forms a pair with the female who will breed next year. Cubs are born from late February to mid-May. There are 2-3 cubs in a litter. The main reproductive contribution is made by females aged 3-7 years. From the end of May, the settlement of young animals from broods begins, partly on the surface, partly underground, the settlement continues until autumn. Young males predominantly settle in the second year of life and mainly underground, females - in the first year and often on the surface, which leads to greater mortality of females in the first year of life. The dispersal range varies from several tens to several hundred meters.
Natural enemies
Relationships with a person
It can harm agricultural crops, especially in vegetable gardens and personal plots (potatoes, carrots, onions and bulbous flowers are most affected). Damages crops of corn, legumes, and woody plants (eats germinating seeds and young plants). Soil emissions can make it difficult to carry out field work (especially mechanized mowing of perennial grasses for hay), and also spoil field roads. Due to the underground way of life, the fight against the animal is difficult (mainly mechanical traps and repellent devices are used) and is often ineffective.
Notes
Links
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See what “Common mole rat” is in other dictionaries:
Common mole rat- Spalax mkrophtalmus see also 11.11.1. Genus Mole Rats Spalax Common mole rat Spalax mkrophtalmus (Table 60) Body length 20–26 cm. Dark color. Lives in forest-steppes and tall grass steppes to the Volga to the east, to Tula and Penza to the north, in... ... Animals of Russia. Directory- ? Mole rats Scientific classification... Wikipedia
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Today, the most famous rodent-digger is the mole. And such a representative of the fauna as the giant mole rat remains little known, although it is not inferior in size to the mole. Its brothers (lesser mole rat, common mole rat and sand mole rat) are more common and there is more information about them. The sand mole rat is most similar to the giant mole rat, according to external signs and biology. This animal is also very interesting view and has its own characteristics, which distinguishes them from other representatives of rodent-diggers.
Sand mole rat
Lesser mole rat
Common mole rat
Appearance
Body length 20-50 cm. Body oblong oval. Giant mole rat of gray-brown color. The coat is short and thick. The upper part of the body is usually lighter than the lower part. In older individuals, the fur often acquires White color. There are no eyes. To be more precise, there are eyeballs, but they are hidden under the skin and are practically undeveloped. The nose is large and bare. The mustache is short. The teeth are represented by only two pairs of incisors (front teeth). The legs are short with small claws. There are no external ears, with only two holes visible on the sides of the head. The tail is missing. Long hairs grow on the forehead, cheeks, belly, near the mouth and on the back of the body, which perform the function of touch. (Fig. 1 Mole rat photo)
Spreading
Like the sand mole rat, it lives in clayey and sandy semi-deserts Caspian regions of the northeastern Ciscaucasia, in the lower reaches of the Sulaka, Terek and Kuma rivers. From r. Kuma to the south extends beyond the Gudermes-Makhachkala line. On the territory of Dogistan it lives in the Terek-Sulak and Terek-Kuma lowlands. This species is distributed unevenly, in patches, in the form of separate settlements.
Mole mole rat
Lifestyle
Leads a solitary life. Adults live in separate burrows. Mole rats spend their entire lives in complete darkness underground. They dig long holes with many passages and chambers, which reach 250 m, at a depth of up to 4 m. They push the soil to the surface with the help of their heads. A large pile of earth accumulates near the hole, with which the rodent covers the hole and digs nearby new entrance into the hole. Mole rats collect food for the winter in passages and cover them with earth on both sides; there can be up to 10 such storerooms in each hole.
Reproduction
Females give birth to offspring no more than once every two years, in early spring. Each litter contains 2-3 cubs. After birth, each cub is naked, but they soon acquire fluffy fur. They stay with their mother for some time after lactation, and by autumn the young move out and begin an independent life. Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of their life. The cubs that settle are often hunted by birds of prey and foxes.
Naked baby mole rat
Nutrition
Only eats plant food(about 40 plant species): juzgun, wheatgrass, kachim, kiyak, wormwood. In captivity he can eat different vegetables(carrots, beets, potatoes). In the warm season, the mole rat eats the top part of the plants and stores the roots for the winter.
Maliciousness
Due to the fact that mole rats often live near vegetable gardens and household plots, they damage agricultural crops, mainly root crops. Ejections of soil from the burrow can interfere with agricultural work (cultivation, plowing) and can damage roads near fields.
Mole mole photo
Fighting methods
Since the mole rat lives underground, it is not easy to fight it. For this purpose, mechanical traps or ultrasonic repellers are used. But these means are ineffective, since the animal cleverly avoids them. Considering the low reproductive rate of giant mole rats, fighting them is not advisable. But if these rodents are active in your garden en masse, then of course you can resort to control methods:
- mole rats are afraid of strong air currents. The hole can be blown out, and a rodent that has crawled out of another exit of the hole can be destroyed manually
- Rodenticides (poison against rodents) are sold against mole rats, but their use in gardens where crops are grown for food is not recommended
- Another one good way combating mole rats - it is recommended to install traps, traps or crossbows near the entrances to the burrow
- An ultrasonic repeller is also used in the fight against mole rats. The repeller must be installed evenly throughout the entire area and its effect will not keep you waiting long. The repeller has an irritating effect on the rodent and it immediately leaves the area where the device is exposed. To understand which repeller is better to choose, you can read reviews on the relevant sites.
- In order to turn around in its narrow hole and go back, the giant mole rat does a kind of “somersault”, which is not typical for other shrews.
- The fur of the giant mole rat can be laid in any direction, allowing it to flow smoothly into different directions of the burrow passages
- The body shape of the giant mole rat resembles the Kazakh dish kurt (a cottage cheese flatbread in the shape of a sausage). Kazakhs call this animal kurt-tyshkat, that is, a rodent similar to kurt
- Unlike the mole, the giant mole rat digs the ground not with its paws, but with its incisors (front teeth). The soil never gets into the rodent's mouth thanks to the skin on the sides of the mouth
- if a mole rat finds itself on the surface of the earth, it will be in a stupor for some time, then circle in one place in reverse and finally try to quickly bury itself in the ground
- the lack of vision is compensated by an excellent sense of smell and touch
- This rodent is listed in the Red Book of Russia.
Now you know what a mole rat looks like, its lifestyle and the features of its biology. The giant mole rat is not found everywhere and is even quite rare, in isolated pockets, but if there are a lot of these rodents in your area, you know how to get rid of it. An ultrasonic repeller is considered the most effective remedy.
Sometimes summer residents, having discovered characteristic piles of earth and complex underground communications on their plots, are sure that there was a mole here. But the culprit may be the common mole rat. What is the difference between him and a mole? They have different appearance and food addictions. Today you will learn how to recognize mole rats, where they live, and how to combat their activity in the garden using effective methods.
This animal causes much more damage to the garden plot than the well-known mole. If moles are only able to make underground passages and form mounds on the surface of the soil, then the common mole rat is able to gnaw many root crops, the harvest of which will not go to the owners - carrots, beets, potatoes. The mole mole also likes to feed on leaves and stems of crops and bulbous flowers. For the winter, the animal mole rat makes food reserves, the volume of which is adult can reach 10 kg.
This animal does not tend to hibernate; it simply becomes less active with the arrival of cold weather. Externally, this is an animal up to 30 - 32 cm long. The mole rat has a head slightly reminiscent of a shovel in shape, reduced eyes - in their place there is a fold of skin. The ears and tail of the animal are rather weakly expressed, the body is densely covered with hair.
There are ordinary, Podolsk, Bukovinian, sandy, and giant mole rats.
The giant mole rat is rare species, whose numbers are declining sharply every year. 
The giant mole rat is listed in the Red Book of Russia. Its representatives give birth once every 2 years, while most of the young die in the first year of life. Giant mole rat disappears due to... active work people on the land - plowing, building irrigation canals, grazing livestock. IN natural conditions The giant mole rat is found only in semi-deserts located in the northeastern Ciscaucasia. Very rarely it can be seen along the Terek, Sulak, and Kuma rivers.
In terms of color, the sand mole rat occupies an intermediate position between the common, Podolsk and Bukovinian mole rats on the one hand, and the giant mole rat on the other. The sand mole rat is lighter colored. 
The back of the head, back and sides of the animal’s body are yellowish-fawn-gray in color. The sand mole rat is a resident of the Lower Dnieper sands of the Kherson region. He likes to settle on poorly moistened soils belonging to the chernozem type. The sand mole rat is most common where wormwood, Ukrainian salsify, field eryngium, pearl cornflower and some other plants grow.
The most common naked species of mole rat is found in our garden plots.
Video “Common mole rat”
From the video you will learn what these animals are.
How is it different from a mole?
The common mole rat, unlike the mole, is larger, and its limbs are five-fingered, with small claws and less developed. The molehill is rather created by powerful teeth, and the earth does not enter the rodent’s mouth, since the folded lips are located behind the scars. 
If moles prefer to eat insects, then these animals eat roots, tubers and bulbs. In order to get to the above-ground part of the crops, they carry them by the roots to their home. The animals most like umbelliferous, asteraceous and leguminous plants. Stems and leaves often become their prey in the spring or early summer.
Where does it live?
For its habitat, it most often chooses fields, steppes, forest belts, ravines, and virgin lands.
The mole rat's underground tunnel systems have two tiers. The first is located at a depth of no more than 25 cm from the surface and is food, the second is located at a depth of 3 - 4 meters. The second has nests for living in summer and winter, as well as storage for food supplies.
The mole digs the soil using its front paws, while the naked mole rat uses its strong incisors. The piles of earth are larger than those of moles. The mounds can have a diameter of up to 50 cm, and the earth thrown to the surface sometimes has a mass of no less, but about 10 kg.
The mole rat can cause a lot of damage to a dacha, and its destruction is very difficult, since most The animal's life is underground.
Methods, means and traps for fighting
The most popular method of control when a mole rat is found on a site is to use strong poisons. They are similar to the poison that allows you to poison rats. Due to the high toxicity of such drugs, it is recommended to install a trap or live trap in the garden. But thanks to their natural intelligence, rodents are able to avoid the place where such traps are installed. Even in case of danger, a small mole rat can show aggression - growl and bare powerful teeth. A live trap or trap should be set when leaving the burrow. There is also a known method of catching animals using a hook. 
It is necessary to dig out the norm and insert a long wire with a hook or several hooks inside.
A loop is made at the other end of the wire. It is needed to secure the hook in the hole. If there is a draft, the animal rushes to the exit and gets hooked. Next, the owner decides how to get rid of the mole rat. The use of crossbows, traps and poisons is considered inhumane, so animal lovers prefer to get rid of pests using water and an electronic repeller. Another method is to smoke rodents out of your home by attaching a hose to the exhaust pipe of a car. But it is possible to contaminate the land on the site along the way. An electronic repeller gives a good effect, since the animals cannot tolerate vibration and tend to leave the garden.
Introducing cats to hunting
How to get rid of harmful animals using animals? You must first find the places under which underground animal communications are located. Next, they dig out about half a meter of the tunnel with a shovel. As mentioned above, the naked mole rat reacts sharply to a draft. Therefore, having made a hole, you need to wait with the cat for the appearance of a naked animal. It will be especially easy for your pet to catch a young and inexperienced pest. You can also involve a dog with the necessary skills in catching animals on the site.
Using water for fishing
Another method that is not destructive, but helps to catch a rodent, is the use of water. You will need a watering hose and about 10 liters of liquid. After discovering the tunnel that leads to the animal’s home, you should dig a hole near the mound with clay and direct water there. In order for the animals to reach the surface, it is necessary to generously fill the underground passages due to their helical shape. Using such a tool, every garden owner will be able to catch uninvited guests from the plot. You will have to decide for yourself how to get rid of them further.
Lives in the forest-steppe and tall-grass steppes of Western Ciscaucasia. To the east it reaches the Volga, to the north to Tula and Penza. This short-legged animal with a ridged body, a head flattened in front, without ears and eyes, resembles some kind of strange stump. Its body length is 20–26 cm, weight 140–220 g.
The life of these animals mainly takes place in underground galleries, the total length of which can reach 500 m. They make highly branched feeding passages shallowly under the surface of the earth. Short tunnels stretch from them to the roots of plants, and underneath them there are deep passages connected to the upper galleries by inclined shafts.
There will be 1–3 nesting chambers at a depth of 50 cm to 3.5 m, and areas occupied by storerooms, of which there can be up to a dozen. There are latrines in the dens. Storerooms are usually located under the largest land emissions. Often the labyrinths of male passages are connected to galleries of female passages. There are no open exits from the hole. In winter, the passages are clogged with earth. The diameter of the burrows is 5–6 cm, sometimes slightly larger.
The lower surface of the front (top) and hind legs of a mole rat (right pair)
Digging the ground, the mole rat crushes it with its teeth and throws it back with its paws. Turning around in the hole, it pushes the earth out with its flattened head. By the round emissions of the earth we recognize the areas where these animals have settled; in the common mole rat they are up to 0.5 m in diameter.
In the system of passages occupied by one animal, one can count more than 250 mounds of earth at a distance of 20–100 cm from each other. The animals begin to build new feeding passages mainly in the spring, in April-May. and use them all summer. Late autumn they begin to dig again, but they do not push out the earth, but place it in the summer feeding passages.
Mole rats feed on underground parts of plants, especially legumes. The amount of food eaten per day is equal to the body weight of the animal. From the second half of summer they begin to collect supplies for the winter.
In the storerooms of these animals, up to 13–14 kg of potatoes and sugar beets were sometimes found. So these rodents sometimes cause damage to root crop plantings. They also eat the roots of young oak trees and sprouted acorns.
Mole rats reproduce slowly. In nests lined with dry plants, the female brings only one litter of 2–4 young, which are born hairless, 5 cm long and weighing about 5 g. The young leave the nest at the age of 4–6 weeks.
The Gagent mole rat can be found only in the semi-deserts of the Caspian region, from Dagestan to the Volga delta. It is noticeably larger than usual, 30–35 cm long. The diameter of the passages of this mole rat is 7–8 cm. The diameter of the emissions is up to 1.5 m, height is up to 70 cm.
Common mole rat (subfamily Spalacinae), one of eight species of burrowing rodents found in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. Among several rodents called "mole rats" (see Zokor), the common mole rat is one of the most interesting in shape, having an oblique, cylindrical body, short limbs and prominent cutting teeth. The legs and claws are surprisingly small for such a highly specialized body.
Description of the animal
Mole rats appear eyeless and deaf as a mole, since the functioning remains of these body parts are covered with fur and are therefore not visible. The tiny eyes are hidden under the skin, and the outer ears are reduced to small folds. Sensory bristles extending posteriorly from the flattened, soft nose to the eyes give the head a knee-shaped wedge shape. Like the eyes and ears, part of the remainder of the tail is not visible from the outside.
Mole rats are medium-sized, ranging from 100 to 570 grams (3.5 oz to 1.3 lb), with lengths ranging from 13 to 35 cm (5.1 to 13.8 in). The dense, soft fur may be pale to reddish brown or gray on upper parts; The lower parts are grayish or brown. The front of the head is usually paler than the back and may have white or yellow stripes that may extend down the sides of the head or run down the middle from the nose to the forehead.
Territorially isolated and solitary, the common mole rat excavates a network of burrows by digging with its incisors, pushing the weakened soil under its belly from the front, and then striking behind it with its hind legs. When enough soil has accumulated, it turns like a mole to pack the tunnel wall with its stiff snout and uses its head to bulldoze excess debris through the tunnel and onto the surface. The resulting mounds indicate tunnels 10–25 cm below the ground in which the rodent searches for food.
Like the mole, the diet consists mainly of roots, tubers and bulbs, but the animal sometimes emerges at night to feed on seeds and green plant parts. In the tunnels, vertical passages connect shallow burrows into deeper corridors where separate chambers are built for nesting, food storage and excrement.
During the wet fall and winter, females build large mounds containing chambers where mating occurs and the young are raised. Like the mole, the mole rat's pregnancy takes about a month, and the litter size ranges from one to five.
The common mole rat is an eccentric creature that is neither a mole nor a rat. The mole rat is a rodent that is closely related to porcupines and guinea pigs. This unusual animal lives in East Africa. It can be found in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The mole rat lives in arid areas and deserts. The common mole rat lives in southeastern Europe, Turkey, Middle East and Eastern North Africa off the coast Mediterranean Sea. Some species also extend east to the Caspian Sea.
Habitats suffer from people this moment), and their population, previously considered large and stable, in wildlife decreases. Mole rats are not yet on the list of endangered species. These rodents prefer sandy or loamy soils of steppes, slopes, forests, meadows, pastures, gardens and cultivated fields in areas that receive at least 10 cm of annual precipitation.
The evolutionary history of mole rats in the Mediterranean is represented by fossils extending from 17 to 19 million years to the Early Miocene Epoch (23.8 million to 16.4 million years ago).
The tiny animal is active all year round. It lives mostly underground or deep in a cave that it digs. In addition to using the incisors to chew food, roots and tubers, teeth are constantly growing and need to be polished to keep them sharp and highly functional.
Common mole rat in the CIS
Types of mole rats in the CIS.
- common blind man- Spalacinae
- Bukovina mole rat - Spalax graecus
Common blind man - Spalacinae
In its own way, the common blind man is believed to actually fill an area that is less than 2,000 square kilometers. It is assumed that in the area of his disappearance in Chechnya, the cause is Civil War, which drove the animal out of its habitat. It also suffers in other places where its habitat is encroached upon due to overgrazing, plowing, irrigation and increasing soil salinity. In Dagestan, it is believed that the population will decline to approximately 10,000 individuals.
Bukovina mole rat - Spalax graecus
Complete scientific name type: Spalax graecus Nehring, 1898. Other names of the species: Greek mole rat. One of 5 modern species genus, one of four species of the genus in the fauna of Ukraine (Topachevsky 1969).
Biological characteristics. Typical biotopes- areas of residual virgin lands, pastures, hayfields, ravine slopes and edges, as well as field roadsides, shelterbelts, personal plots and fields with crops cultivated plants. The mole rat is a highly specialized mole rat that lives in long (up to 200 m) branched burrows. The area of individual plots ranges from 90 (for young people) to 250 square meters. m (Yangolenko 1961).
The nesting chamber is predominantly single, lined with dry grasses; storerooms are located at a depth of up to 1.5 m. It feeds on roots in the diet of more than 50 species of plants; winter reserves range from 0.5 to 12 kg (usually 1-4 kg of reserves), consumes food per day, equal to the body weight of the mole rat. Sexual maturity occurs in the third year of life. At the beginning of the year (January-March), the female gives birth to 2-3 babies, and already in May the young begin to live independently (Yangolenko and Filipchuk 1990).
Geographical distribution. Areal endemic. On the territory of Ukraine it is found only in the territory of Bukovina within two districts of the Chernivtsi region. - Storozhinetsky and Golubitsky (Yangolenko, 1959, 1966). Also distributed in Romania (Hamar 1974).
Assessment of the state of populations. The current size of the Ukrainian population is estimated at 1.5 thousand individuals. The density of mole rats in their places of residence averages 0.2-0.4 individuals per hectare, rarely 4-10 people. / Ha (ibid.). A factor of vulnerability and a decrease in the total number of the species is the intensive economic activity humans, including plowing virgin soil, using pesticides and mineral fertilizers and etc.
Security measures. Special measures The species does not require protection. The species is included in the European (1991) Red List and in Appendix II of the Berne Convention. The species has a conservation category according to the Red Book of Ukraine (Filipchuk 1994). It is protected on the territory of the national reserve “Tsetsin”, in the Chernivtsi region. To save the view you must provide protective status new areas where biotopes are typical for the species and places of residence of this species have been identified.
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