# Highveld Mole-rat

*Cryptomys pretoriae*

They use their massive, ever-growing incisors to excavate hard-packed clay, sealing their lips behind their teeth to keep from swallowing dirt.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Rodentia › Bathyergidae › Cryptomys
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Underground burrow systems in mesic Highveld grasslands and savannas with clay or sandy soils.
- **Diet:** Herbivorous geophytes, including bulbs, tubers, corms, and roots.
- **Range:** South Africa, Lesotho
- **Size:** Length: 11-16 cm; Weight: 80-160 g
- **Lifespan:** 5-8 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to urbanization, intensive agriculture, and persecution by land managers.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless but defensive. If encountered on the surface, maintain a safe distance of 1 meter and do not attempt to handle them. They possess powerful incisors and will bite if threatened. If bitten, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention to prevent infection.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/86d8095b-0ace-4b5f-986a-ca2f5f9e0a62
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1360142

- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/114528604/medium.jpeg (Andrew Hankey, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.