The big-headed mole rat is one of the largest rodents among African mole rats. The animal spends almost its entire life underground in the highlands of Ethiopia and digs long tunnels with its large front teeth.
The big-headed earth-digger differs from other rodents with its enormous head and powerful teeth. It is important for nature because it digs up the soil, improves its structure, and serves as food for local predators.
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
breeding
very cold, short summer, lots of moss
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
foraging
g
summer mild, +15…+20 °C
Polar tundra
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Forelimbs color
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
Coconut
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
protection from predators
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
suffocation in burrows
Cool summer
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
alpine meadows and arctic tundra on land
Trophic type
Filters
Captures or processes food by biting or nipping with the mouth.
roots of plants
always hot and humid, huge trees and vines
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
high in the mountains, cold, lots of grass and shrubs
in a burrow
tubers
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
tubers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
roots
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
Incisors color
Montane grasslands
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
very cold, lots of snow and ice
bulbs
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
from 0.5 to 0.8 kilograms, 0.5 – 1 meter
digging
Pets
biting
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
alpine and arctic tundra
Where are they found?
nest hidden in an underground burrow, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
herbivore
Incisors size
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Tropical moist forest
Elders
Bro
Very cold
normal sexual
Taxons
if born as {name}
cold, short summer, almost no trees
age
birth date
Head size
rest
bulbs and rhizomes — onion, tulip, narcissus
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
Forelimbs size
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
lots of rain, summer not hot
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Plants
Gestation
land
{name} birthday
No results found
underground
Eyes color
On the map
bulbs
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
Skin color
caring mother
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
Tundra
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
mountains
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Duration
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
Cool summer and lots of rain
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
roots and plant tubers
active predation
underground tubers — potato, cyclamen, tulip
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
body
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Incisors count
Denotes a mountainous habitat preference.
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap