Watch the mating season of mole rats when. Common mole rat - abstract

Having encountered a mole rat in nature, it is difficult to recognize in it an animal that belongs to a number of rodents, so surprisingly its entire structure is adapted to constant underground life. Only the presence of one pair of extremely strong incisors with a sharp, chisel-shaped shape, which, unlike other shrews, protrude expressively from the mouth, and the absence of fangs indicate that this animal belongs to the order of rodents. The upper lips of mole rats extend inside the oral cavity and form a kind of valve that reliably prevents soil from entering the mouth. A peculiar adaptation to the underground life of mole rats is their clumsy body with a very wide flattened spade-shaped head and short neck, undeveloped ears, which are not even visible from the fur and which look like folds of skin around a small ear opening. The eyes of mole rats are also completely atrophied and their remains are hidden under the skin. On both sides of the head there is a row of hard elastic bristles that act as a sensory organ. The nose of mole rats is wide, covered with a strong layer of very keratinized skin. The tail is very short and invisible in appearance. The legs are also very short. The mole rat differs from shrews such as moles in that its forelimbs do not have the appearance of digging organs. Mole rats dig numerous underground passages exclusively with the help of wide incisors, with which they bite into the soil. The loosening soil is pushed through with the head, like a shovel.
The body length of mole rats does not exceed 35 cm. The hair is short, thick, silky, and does not have a separate spine. The color is brownish-fawn, with a yellowish tint. The lower part of the body is colored the same as the upper.

Mole rats live in Ukraine in steppe and forest-steppe regions. They live on open spaces, the remains of virgin plots not occupied by crops of cultivated plants, on the slopes of ravines, hay fields, etc., choosing predominantly chernozem soils covered with dense grassy herbaceous vegetation. Mole rats spend their entire lives in burrows that lie at a depth of 15-20 cm. The system of their underground passages is enormously long: it stretches for a distance of up to 400 m. Mole rats throw the earth from the holes to the surface, forming cone-shaped heaps that look like a molehill, only much more sizes(up to 40 cm in diameter and up to 30 cm in height). Such heaps are located close to one another, so behind them you can determine the direction of the underground passages of the mole rat. Having no permanent exit holes, these animals rarely come to the surface. To do this, each time they work out a special hole outward. Returning to the hole, carefully cover the exit with earth.

Mole rats are very vicious, often attacking each other, severely biting and inflicting serious injuries. When breaking through passages, they show extreme caution. In case of the slightest disturbance of silence, they hide and stop digging for a long time. Mole rats are exclusively herbivorous animals, feeding mainly on succulent roots, rhizomes, tubers, and young roots tree species, only occasionally consume green parts wild plants. Penetrating into agricultural lands, they willingly consume potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.
IN hibernation They don’t lie down, they just stop digging. In the autumn, when the soil has not yet frozen, mole rats make large reserves of plant food for the winter, mainly roots and rhizomes, depositing them in special feeding branches (pantries dug next to the nesting chamber).

Mole rats make nests for giving birth and raising babies at great depths (can reach 2 m or more). Here, once a year, in March, the female gives birth to two to four babies, which develop quickly. In the second half of May or early June, they already begin to live independently and even dig holes for themselves. If mole rats settle on cultivated land or in forest nurseries, they can cause national economy significant losses. In a potato field
One mole rat alone gnawed up to thirty bushes during the night. In the hayfields of perennial grasses, mole rats make mowing difficult with their emissions of soil. But they cause especially great harm when stockpiling winter supplies. An interesting fact: in one mole rat’s pantry, about 15 kg of supplies were found - 8 kg of pieces of oak seedling roots, 2 kg of acorns, 5 kg of potatoes, etc.

Even in the recent past, mole rats were numerous rodents on the territory of Ukraine and were considered especially harmful animals, but due to the economic development of free, unoccupied lands, mole rats lost their characteristic natural environment and their numbers have sharply decreased in recent decades. Currently as rare species animals of the fauna of Ukraine, they no longer threaten the human economy and are even listed in the Red Book, therefore, subject to protection.

Mole rats have few enemies; their underground lifestyle reliably saves them from many predators. Young animals that begin to disperse independently become victims of predators more often. The fur of mole rats that had good grey colour with a silky sheen and strong flesh, until recently they were prepared as decoration.

Do you recognize the animal with huge teeth? This is the only case of loss of vision in the order of rodents and the second among all mammals (another blind person is marsupial mole, living in Australia).

Let's find out more about it...

Photo 2.

Mole rats (Spalacidae)- a family of medium-sized rodents with a small number of species (the weight of the largest does not exceed 800-900 g). In the course of evolution, mole rats (Spalax) adapted to an exclusively underground lifestyle in steppe and semi-desert areas with fairly rich vegetation. Among the representatives of the life form of the “root-eater”, mole rats stand out in that their eyes have completely lost the ability to see.

This family includes a peculiar group of rodents leading an underground lifestyle. They have lost their sight, and their very small eyes are hidden under the skin, there is not even a corresponding cut in it. The head of mole rats is wide, flattened on top. The nose is wide, covered with a thick layer of highly keratinized skin. With its head, like a shovel, the animal digs the earth loosened by its incisors. The auricle is missing. There is no tail visible from the outside. The front and hind legs are short. The upper and lower incisors are strongly developed and not covered by the lips. There are three molars in each half of the upper and lower jaws; their chewing surface is flat, with characteristic loops and islands of enamel.

Within the USSR, there are three species of mole rats, of which the most widespread is the common mole rat.

Photo 3.

Mole rats dig long (up to 900 m), branched underground passages in several tiers up to 3-4 m deep. Upper galleries, where the animals live in summer period, serve to collect food (rhizomes, bulbs, tubers). In the lower tier there is a wintering chamber and storerooms with plant parts carefully laid out and covered with earth. When digging, rodents use powerful incisors, acting like an excavator bucket. The earth is pushed out with a shovel-shaped head. The nose of mole rats is covered with keratinized skin that protects from mechanical damage. In addition, such a nose is convenient for compacting the walls of burrows.

Photo 4.

The incisors of mole rats, like those of all rodents, sharpen themselves when gnawing, but this is not enough for rootworms: they also sharpen their teeth against each other. The structural features of the lower jaw and muscles allow mole rats to move their lower incisors apart and move them back and forth by moving the blade one against the other.

Photo 5.

One animal, who lived in captivity for a long time, achieved true skill in sharpening teeth. His home was an ordinary aquarium, the metal frame of which the mole rat learned to use. He stood on his hind legs, rested his upper incisors against the edge of the metal side, and literally gnawed on it with his lower incisors. The mole rat used the glass walls of the aquarium to finely polish the sharp edge of its incisors. One can imagine the “grinding of teeth” that accompanied this procedure every time!

Photo 6.

The special “sophistication” of sharpening and grinding the incisors of mole rats is due to the fact that it is with their incisors that they dig their extended burrows. This leads to rapid wear of the cutting surfaces and, accordingly, to the need for rapid growth of the cutters themselves. In captivity, the mole rat is forced to wear down its incisors on its own. If this is not done, then within a few days they will grow to such a size that the animal will not be able to close its mouth.

Photo 7.

It is rare to see mole rats due to their secretive lifestyle. Many people mistake them for moles (even in areas where moles do not live), deceived by the appearance of the characteristic cone-shaped soil emissions, reminiscent of moles in shape.

Photo 8.

In Russia, mole rats live in the forest-steppe and steppe from the border with Ukraine to the Volga - for example, the common mole rat (Spalax microphtalmus), and they are most numerous in the Kursk, Voronezh and Rostov regions. The largest species of this family, the giant mole rat (S. giganteus), is found in Dagestan. In the second half of the 20th century, as a result of the plowing of almost all lands favorable for mole rats, the number of these rodents decreased, and in a number of areas they disappeared completely.

Photo 9.

Lifestyle. Mole rat burrows have a complex structure. Most passages are located horizontally, close to the soil surface. From the outside, a mole rat's hole can be easily recognized by the numerous large piles of earth that the animal throws out through its holes. The burrow does not have permanent external openings, and the animal makes a hole outside only for the short time necessary to throw out a heap of earth. Horizontal passages serve the animal for obtaining food; In addition to them, he digs deep passages with complex branching galleries and several chambers in which the nest is located and food supplies are placed.

The mole rat does not hibernate, but winter time he becomes much less active than in summer. The reproduction of this animal is poorly studied. Cubs are born in March - April, numbering 1-3. At the beginning of June they already begin to lead an independent life.

Feeds mole rats by underground parts of plants: roots, tubers, bulbs, in particular tubers of steppe peas, wild chicory roots, young oak roots, germinating acorns, etc.

Photo 10.

Economic importance and production. In some areas, mole rats harm cultivated plants by eating potato tubers, and in forest nurseries, the roots of oak seedlings and acorns planted in the ground.

The skin of the mole rat has a rather beautiful gray color with a silky sheen and a strong inner core. Its blanks have been produced in small sizes only since 1931. There is every reason to assume that in the coming years the importance of the mole rat will increase, and it will produce popular finishing fur.

Mole rats are caught using a trap, using hooks from holes, as well as by throwing them out with a shovel or shooting. To watch for him, it is necessary to open an earthen passage in some place. The animal will very quickly begin to close it, pushing out the earth. At this time, the mole rat can be shot with shot through a layer of loose earth.

In addition to the common mole rat, the giant mole rat is also found within the USSR, Spalax giganteus N e h g., characterized by larger sizes (body length up to 35 cm) and light yellowish-gray color.

This species is distributed in the steppes and semi-deserts of the northeastern Ciscaucasia, as well as to the east of the river. Ural, in western Kazakhstan.

Finally, in the southern Transcaucasus, in the Odessa region and in the Moldavian SSR, the mountain mole rat is found, 5. leucodon N o g d t., characterized by relatively small size, rusty fur and a relatively low skull.

Photo 11.

There is advice on how to catch a mole rat.

This animal does not like drafts. You need to find its underground passage, dig it out and make an exit to the surface of the earth. About a meter from this exit, look for a continuation of the same passage and dig a small hole. Set a trap and cover it with soil. Secure the chain from the trap to the surface, cover the hole with a sheet of plywood and cover it with earth. The mole rat will go to eliminate the draft and fall into a trap. After 20-30 minutes you need to dig up the plywood and pull out the trap and the mole rat.

And one more recommendation: dig a ditch (up to 30 cm deep) with steep walls around the site; it can be covered with roofing felt or pieces of slate. Once there, the mole rat will not get out. At the bottom, every 10-15 m you need to dig containers of water to a depth of 30-40 cm. Once in the groove, the animal, moving along the wall, will fall into such a container.

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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. In late autumn they begin to dig again, but they do not push out the earth, but place it in 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 is a mammal that belongs to the order of rodents. During evolutionary development all organs of this animal have adapted to the underground lifestyle.

The eyes completely atrophied and lost the ability to see. This is almost the only case in the delight of rodents when a complete loss of vision occurred. The lifestyle of these mammals is exclusively underground. Mole rats, like , they dig long labyrinths of passages, and they push the excess soil that interferes with them to the surface.

There are 4 species in the mole rat family. Each of them has its own habitat. Animal mole rat chooses steppes, deserts, forest-steppes and forest outskirts for its residence. The soil suitable for their habitat should be of moderate density. Clay and sandy soil is not suitable for them. Their habitat includes forest-steppes and steppes of Moldova, Ukraine and Russia.

A mole rat digs the ground with its teeth

These are mainly pastures or unplowed lands rich in herbaceous vegetation. Mole mole rat on my own small size. Its length is 30-32 cm. It weighs from 700 g. up to 1 kg. He leads a rather secluded lifestyle, so few people have seen him live. To correct this oversight and have an idea of ​​the appearance of this animal, we bring to your attention a few photo of mole rats.

As you can see in the image, it has no ears, its eyes are hidden under folds of skin, and its small tail is almost invisible. The limbs of this underground inhabitant are short, and the head resembles a bayonet shovel. By the way, he digs his own tunnels mole mole rat exclusively with teeth, not paws.

This happens in the following way: the front incisors of the mammal bite into the soil, and then with the help of a spade-shaped head, crushed lumps of earth are pushed out. Special structure jaw and muscles allows you to move the lower incisors apart and move them forward and back.

This type of work leads to significant wear on teeth. mole rat. But don’t worry, incisors grow back very quickly, so without a “tool” to dig their tunnels, this underground dweller won't remain. By the way, thanks to his work, he not only grinds down the incisors, but also sharpens them when biting into the soil. Animals in captivity deserve more sympathy.

They do not have the opportunity to grind their teeth and sometimes they cannot close their mouth due to the fact that the incisors have grown to enormous sizes. The fur of these giants of their craft is very soft and dark in color. The nose is covered with a keratinized layer of skin. It is this layer that is protective. It protects against various mechanical damage during compaction of the burrow walls.

The character and lifestyle of the mole rat

If moles loosen the soil with their front paws, then sand mole rats wield powerful cutters. The piles of earth after their activity remain larger than those of moles, reaching about 0.5 m.

Pictured is a sand mole rat

The weight of one such pile can reach 10 kg. From 3 to 20 representatives of this species live on 1 hectare of land. The most active period of life of these rodents falls on spring months. In summer and winter they become less active, but do not hibernate. Labyrinths of passages of giant mole rats special in their structure.

Their distinctive feature is a tiered tunnel system. So, the top floor of “such a building” is considered food; it is located at a depth of 25 cm. On this tier, rodents collect food: tubers, plant rhizomes. On the second floor there are tunnels, summer and winter nests and storage rooms. It is located deeper - 3-4 m.

In winter, the entrance to these underground galleries is clogged with earth, and the animal lives here until the onset of warmer times. The total area of ​​such labyrinths is 450 m. The number of food pantries in such an area can reach 10 pieces, and winter supplies can be 10 kg. This is such a thrifty animal.

The lifestyle of giant mole rats is solitary. They carefully guard the borders of their territory. Sometimes, collisions between two males end in skirmishes for territory with fatal. Their activities cause great harm agriculture.

Signs of a mole rat in the garden- these are hills of earth. They not only spoil the aesthetic appearance of the site, but also destroy the crop. The crops most affected by these underground animals are corn, legumes, carrots, beets and potatoes. In just one day, 1 individual can damage 4-6 root crop bushes. Mole rat settled down on your site, how to deal with it?

You can get rid of this pest by re-digging the soil. This is how I destroy the feeding tiers of their passages. It happens that they are repelled by an unpleasant smell, so you can use special commercial repellers. One of the options is to fight catching a mole rat by hand. To do this, a fresh entrance to the hole is determined and another entrance is looked for. Then the section between them is excavated.

Pictured is a giant mole rat

This animal does not tolerate drafts, so it will try to repair the damage. It is at this moment that this pest can be caught. Kick out mole mole rat You can also use water. They find a mound of earth mixed with clay and pour water into the hole nearby.

Nutrition

They feed exclusively on plant foods. They eat tubers, bulbs and rhizomes. To get to the stem, they pull on the root so that the entire plant ends up in their burrow. The favorite “dishes” of the mole rat are legumes, asteraceae and umbelliferae.

Reproduction and lifespan

Mole rats live alone, but during the breeding season they form family groups. Such a family includes 1 male and 1-2 females. As a rule, members of such families live next door. The male is digging a tunnel to his chosen one. He moves in response to the sounds made by the female.

If there are 2 females in a group, then they take turns breeding. One year the first, the second - another. Such unions disintegrate only in the event of death. 2-3 babies are born per year. This significant event occurs between February and May.

The resettlement of the younger generation is taking place in a unique way. So “girls” are moved to the upper tiers a year after their appearance, and “boys” are moved to the lower floors in the 2nd year. They become sexually mature at 2-3 years of age. Life expectancy of mole rats is 2.5 – 9 years.

The small mole rat is a representative of mole rats. In some areas of our country, small mole rats are called blind women. These rodents are often found with the prefix "Nanno", which translates to dwarf. The animals are also called white-toothed mole rats.

Description of the lesser mole rat

These small animals have a body length of 15 to 24 centimeters. The body shape is cylindrical. Appearance The small mole rat is attractive - it has a soft coat light gray color and small paws with claws. The coat color on the back may be brown.

Instead of eyes, this rodent has only a thick fold of skin covered with small hairs. The mouth contains long incisors.

The blind woman is completely different from the mole, which also lives underground. Its dimensions are much smaller, it can fit in a human palm, and the digging organs of a mole rat are completely different.

Moles dig tunnels underground using their modified limbs, and mole rats use their wide front incisors as digging tools. The mole rat has a fold on its lip that covers the opening of its mouth; thanks to this fold, soil does not get into the animal’s mouth when it digs holes. There is a similar fold near the nose.

The mole rat has no tail. In addition, they lack auricles, but they have excellent hearing. Characteristic feature The small mole rat has a low skull and low-lying zygomatic arches, which become narrower towards the middle.

Lifestyle of the Lesser Mole Rat

Thanks to the cylindrical shape of the body, blind women move well underground. While digging the soil, the mole rat's incisors are sharpened. The lower jaw has such a structure that the mole rat can easily spread its lower teeth, moving them back and forth, which also ensures good sharpening. When a mole rat digs the soil, its incisors work like an excavator, throwing out excess soil, resulting in the formation of a passage. The mole rat then turns around and pushes the earth out of the tunnel with its head.

These animals, leading an underground life, have completely reduced visual function, but they have excellent hearing and a well-developed sense of smell, thanks to this they are excellent at navigating their burrows.

These are excellent diggers, capable of digging holes whose depth is about 4 meters. Moves can be created in several floors. The tunnel network can be very extensive.

Small mole rats practically do not appear on the surface of the earth; they can only get out of their holes at night. In dug holes, mole rats store food supplies, live in them and raise offspring. The upper tunnels are used to store supplies that are planned to be eaten immediately, and the tunnels below are used as a refrigerator pantry. In such chambers, reserves do not freeze even during severe winters, since they are located quite deep under a large layer of earth.

In winter, small mole rats remain awake, active day and night. These mole rats feed on plant bulbs, root crops, and potato tubers. Small mole rats are real hard workers, the volume of their reserves is amazing - one individual can stock up on 20 kilograms of food.

Mole rat habitats

Initially, mole rats lived in the steppes, but then they colonized meadows, arable lands and fields. They are also found in the mountains; in mountainous areas they were found at altitudes of up to 2400 meters. These rodents happily settle on the edges of forests, where bulbous plants and perennial grasses grow.

Blind blind people are most often found in Western Ukraine: Lvov, Ciscaucasia, Kyiv and Mordovia. They also live in Asia Minor and Libya.

Reproduction of blind women

Lesser mole rats are solitary animals. The network of tunnels of one individual does not connect with the burrows of another.

Individuals of different sexes are found exclusively during the breeding season. The mating season for small mole rats begins in the spring and continues until summer. But today scientists do not know how blind women find partners and create pairs.

Mole rats give birth to offspring once a year. One female can have up to 6 cubs in a litter, but, as a rule, 3-4 babies are born. A blind woman feeds her offspring for 4 weeks.

About the life expectancy of small mole rats, as well as about their mating behavior, nothing is known.