Caroline's Mole Rat

Aucune description en français n’est encore disponible.

Fukomys vandewoestijneae or Caroline's mole-rat was first noticed in 2002 by a research team from the University of Ghent. This new species, distinguished by a distinctive skull shape, was recently described by Paul Van Daele and his team in Zootaxa while DNA and chromosome tests confirmed its novelty. The new species was named after Van Daele's late wife, Caroline Van De Woestijne, who was a member of the research team and died of malaria while in Africa.

Las ratas topo (Bathyergidae) son una familia de roedores excavadores del infraorden de los histricognatos que viven en el África subsahariana. Representa una evolución distinta de un modo de vida subterráneo y son roedores semejantes a los tuzas de Norteamérica, el tuco-tuco de Sudamérica o los muroideos excavadores. Heterocephalus glaber y Fukomys damarensis son los únicos mamíferos eusociales conocidos.