NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
East African Mole Rat
Tachyoryctes splendens (Rüppell, 1835)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Engraving of East African mole rat.
Rüppell, Eduard, 1794-1884 · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northeast African mole-rat (Tachyoryctes splendens) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae and is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, and northwest Kenya. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, dry savanna, high-altitude shrubland and grassland. It lives a solitary existence underground and produces a small litter of pups twice a year, in the two rainy seasons. Some taxonomic authorities lump this species, along with a number of others in the genus, in which case the English name East African mole-rat is used.
Wikipedia contributors, Northeast African mole-rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:29:04.919773+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tachyoryctes splendens (Rüppell, 1835)
- Name authority
- (Rüppell, 1835)
- Common name
- East African Mole Rat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Spalacidae
- Genus
- Tachyoryctes
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familySpalacidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyTachyoryctinae Miller & Gidley, 1918
- genusTachyoryctes Rüppell, 1835
- speciesTachyoryctes splendens (Rüppell, 1835)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tachyoryctes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rudd's African Mole RatTachyoryctes ruddi Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Embi African Mole RatTachyoryctes spalacinus Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Storey's African Mole RatTachyoryctes storeyi Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ruanda Mole RatTachyoryctes ruandae Lönnberg & Gyldenstolpe, 1925 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ankole African Mole RatTachyoryctes ankoliae Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Big-headed Mole RatTachyoryctes macrocephalus (Rüppell, 1842) | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mianzini African Mole RatTachyoryctes annectens (Thomas, 1891) | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Naivasha Mole RatTachyoryctes naivashae Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| King African Mole RatTachyoryctes rex Heller, 1910 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Demon African Mole RatTachyoryctes daemon Thomas, 1909 | SpalacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632771 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:54CV4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.