Mole-rat

Mole-rat (Spalax), a genus of rodent quadrupeds of the family Muridæ, having teeth almost like those of rats, but in many respects resembling moles, as in general form, shortness of limbs, concealment of ears, smallness or even rudimentary condition of eyes, and burrowing habits—although their food is altogether different, consisting wholly of vegetable substances, and chiefly of roots. The mole-rats are almost confined to the African continent and to the oriental region; a few species occur in south-east Russia, Greece, and Hungary. Bathyergus maritimus of the Cape is a large species which inhabits the sand-dunes of the coast.