18.

Giant Golden Mole

Chrysospalax trevelyani

French: Grande Taupe-dorée / German: Riesengoldmull / Spanish: Topo dorado gigante

Taxonomy. Chrysochloris trevelyani Gunther, 1875,

Pirie Forest, King Williams Town, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to SE South Africa, occurring between East London and Port St Johns, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 215-235 mm (males) and 208-229 mm (females), hindfoot 20-28 mm (males) and

21-27 mm (females); weight 470 g (males) and 410-500 g (females). The Giant Golden Mole is the largest golden mole. Dorsum is dark glossy brown, yellowish brown, or grayish brown; venteris similar but paler. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 30 and FN = 56.

Habitat. Transkei Coastal Scarp forests, Amathole Mistbelt forests, and occasionally adjoining grasslands, preferring softsoils, deep leaflitter, and thick undergrowth. The Giant Golden Mole avoids commercial forestry plantations.

Food and Feeding. Diet of the Giant Golden Mole mainly contains earthworms, including giant earthworms (Microchaetes spp.), and millipedes. The Giant Golden Mole mostly forages in leaf litter aboveground, leaving signs of stirred up soil and leaves. Captive individuals eat various food types, including House Mice (Mus musculus).

Breeding. A Giant Golden Mole gave birth to one young in October.

Activity patterns. Giant Golden Moles are primarily nocturnal. Diurnal surface activity is unusual and occurs only under cloudy conditions.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Giant Golden Moles live in short burrows, c¢.10 m long, that are linked by surface runways. They are frequently active aboveground in leaf litter when foraging and use runways to move between burrow entrances. An unconfirmed report indicated that several adults were dug out of a single nest in July, suggesting conspecifics will share burrows in winter (this is the only suggested instance of sociality for adult golden moles).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Giant Golden Mole has an area of occupancy of only ¢.272 km? with severely fragmented distribution, and faces ongoing habitat loss. Although it has been recorded from 17 localities in the Eastern Cape,it is thought to be locally extinct in somesites previously inhabited. It is threatened by ongoing habitat loss due to urban sprawl and expanding coastal tourism.

Bibliography. Bronner (1995b, 2013b), Bronner & Asher (2016¢c), Maddock (1986).