Chrysochloris stuhlmanni

Matschie, 1894

Stuhlmann's Golden Mole

Figure 1. Photograph by B. Stanley.

Figure 2. FMNH 204659. Photograph by R. Banasiak.

Type Description:

Sitzb. Ges. Naturf. Fr. Berlin, p.123

Type Locality:

Uganda, Ruwenzori region, 'Ukondjo und Kinyawanga'.

Measurements:

Head and body: 105-120 mm

Tail length: 4-5 mm

Weight: 26-53 g

Description:

There is no visible tail or eyes, the two of the claws on the front foot are well developed, and there is a green, blue or purple metallic sheen on the fur. This combination of external characters makes this animal unmistakable.

Comparisons:

No other animal has the combination of characters listed in the description above.

Distribution:

Chrysochloris stuhlmanni is restricted to the East African montane highlands (Kingdon, 1984, 1997). In Tanzania, C. stuhlmanni occurs in the Uluguru and Udzungwa mountains and the southern highlands in Iringa and Mbeya Regions.

Figure 3.

Ecological Notes:

Found in montane forests (and shambas in the proximity of such habitats) in a variety of central and southwestern Tanzanian mountains, the golden mole burrows, leaving prominent trails of raised earth above their underground paths. They eat worms and insects.

Key Reference:

1. Allen, G. M. and Loveridge, A. 1927. Mammals from the Uluguru and Usambara mountains, Tanganyika Territory. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 38: 413-441.
2. Kingdon, J. 1984. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Insectivores and Bats). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2A:22-27.
3. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 139-140.
4. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:179-182.
5. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.