Caroline's Mole-rat

Open encyclopedia reference

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.

The species was found in the Ikelenge Pedicle between the Sakeji and Zambezi rivers, a region shared by Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola. Although the area has not been well-researched it is considered to harbour a great number of endemic species. To date 28 endemic species have come to light: one amphibian, five mammals, three butterflies, and 19 dragonflies. The region comprises gallery forests adjacent to rivers and wetlands, and woodlands where miombo trees are dominant, the habitat of the new mole rat. These forests, as with others all over the world, are under threat.

Wikipedia contributors, Fukomys vandewoestijneae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:35:42.578155+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Fukomys vandewoestijneae Van Daele et al., 2013

Name authority

Van Daele et al., 2013

Common name

Caroline's Mole-rat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Bathyergidae

Genus

Fukomys

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
14. familyBathyergidae Waterhouse, 1841
15. genusFukomys Kock, Ingram, Frabotta, Honeycut & Burda, 2006
16. speciesFukomys vandewoestijneae Van Daele et al., 2013

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Fukomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 12 records assigned to Bathyergidae.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1221690 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:C3DVD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.