Giant Golden Mole

The giant golden mole has a subterranean lifestyle. It has large claws around 17 millimetres (0.67 in) long and 7 millimetres (0.28 in) across the base, powerful forelimbs, no external tail or ears, wedge-shaped head, leather pad, and skin covering the eyes. It is approximately 208–235 millimetres (8.2–9.3 in) in length and 410–500 grams (14–18 oz) in weight. Its skin is dark and brown on the upper parts and faded on the underparts, sometimes with a darker line down the mid-throat. Its coloration is slightly darker on the head, with two dull yellow patches where the eyes would be, and a yellow patch around the ear openings. Its hair is longer and coarser than any other species of golden mole: about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long, thick, with dense, woolly underfur.

The giant golden mole is a subterranean small mammal, living in chambers and passages underneath a very specific habitat, forests with soft soil, deep leaf litter layers, and well-developed undergrowth. The giant golden mole is endemic to South Africa, mostly in a restricted area in the Eastern Cape.

The giant golden mole digs semi-permanent tunnels about 10 metres (33 ft) in length linked by surface runways for hunting food and may feed on the surface hiding in the leaf litter. It eats mainly millipedes and giant earthworms, but also crickets, cockroaches, grasshoppers, worms, and snails.