Description
The Cape Golden Mole, Chrysochloris asiatica, isn't golden, isn't a mole, and doesn't occur in Asia. The 'golden' part comes from the shimmering coat which does indeed have golden hues in other golden mole species, but is has greenish, bluish and purplish iridescence in this species. The species name asiatica comes from the Father of Taxonomy, Linnaeus, mislabelling a specimen as coming from Siberia, when actually these little critters live in South Africa. The mole part comes from its burrowing lifestyle. But golden moles are very distantly related to moles; they may indeed be closest to the tenrecs of Madagascar (along with the otter shrews which also occur in Africa). They have no external eyes, and huge claws on their front feet. Most golden mole species occur in South Africa, a few further to the north, but all are confined to sub-Saharan Africa. Watercolour.
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