Cape mole-rat
Georychus capensis (Pallas, 1778)
The cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) is a species in the family Bathyergidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 189.7 g to 232.7 g and live up to 3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the cape mole-rat
- Weight
- 189.7 g – 232.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 44 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.94src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 9.99 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the cape mole-rat live?
Not recorded
What is the cape mole-rat?
The Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) is a species of mole-rat endemic to South Africa. It is the only extant species currently described as belonging to the genus Georychus.
From the Wikipedia article “Cape mole-rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cape_mole-rat&oldid=1375077833), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cape mole-rat endangered?
The cape mole-rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the cape mole-rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyBathyergidae
- genusGeorychus
- SpeciesGeorychus capensis (Pallas, 1778)
Synonyms Fossor leucops, Georychus buffonii, Georychus capensis canescens, Georychus leucops, Georychus yatesi, Mus buffoni, Mus capensis
Other names and names in other languages (19)
- Cape blesmolEnglish
- Cape mole ratEnglish
- Cape mole ratEnglish
- BlesmolAfrikaans
- Kaapse BlesmolAfrikaans
- جرذ الخلد الرأسيArabic
- rypoš kapskýCzech
- KapbleßmullGerman
- Eigentlicher BlässmullGerman
- Eigentlicher BlessmullGerman
- KapblässmullGerman
- KapmullratteGerman
- ValkokuonomyyrikköFinnish
- キボウホウデバネズミJapanese
- JordborerNorwegian Bokmål
- Kaapse BlesmolratDutch
- piaskogrzeb przylądkowyPolish
- Rato-toupeira-do-caboPortuguese
- Капский землекопRussian
Relatives of the cape mole-rat
Other species in the same family Bathyergidae.
Damaraland mole-rat
Fukomys damarensis
Cape dune mole-rat
Bathyergus suillus
Silvery mole-rat
Heliophobius argenteocinereus
Common mole-rat
Cryptomys hottentotus
Namaqua dune mole-rat
Bathyergus janetta
Ghana mole-rat
Fukomys zechi
CompareCape mole-rat vs Damaraland mole-ratCape mole-rat vs Cape dune mole-ratCape mole-rat vs Silvery mole-ratCape mole-rat vs Common mole-rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cape mole-rat?
An adult cape mole-rat weighs 189.7 g – 232.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cape mole-rat endangered?
The cape mole-rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the cape mole-rat live?
The cape mole-rat has a recorded lifespan of 3 years.
How long is the cape mole-rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 44 days.
What kind of animal is the cape mole-rat?
The cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) belongs to the family Bathyergidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-mole-rat
“Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-mole-rat.
@misc{cape_mole_rat_2026,
title = {Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-mole-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}