Naked mole-rat
Amazing fact
A naked mole-rat closes its lips behind its front teeth, digging without getting dirt in its mouth.
Smithsonian National Zoo
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A naked mole-rat closes its lips behind its front teeth, digging without getting dirt in its mouth.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Naked mole-rat
- Scientific name
- Heterocephalus glaber
- Japanese name
- ハダカデバネズミ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Bathyergidae
- Genus
- Heterocephalus
It lives underground in East Africa in colonies like those of ants and bees, where the queen alone gives birth.
Underground the temperature hardly changes, so it does not need to control its body temperature and has almost no hair.
It eats underground roots and tubers, leaving part of the plant so it can keep growing, and comes back to eat more later.
How the Naked mole-rat lives
It moves its head and tail back and forth as it travels through tunnels. It brings food it finds back to the nest and stores it. Some colony members care for young and gather food.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebSan Diego ZooBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 90–120 mm上野動物園
- Weight
- 30–60 g上野動物園
- Lifespan
- 22–31 years in captivityUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Roots and underground plants上野動物園
- Range
- Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia上野動物園
Where the Naked mole-rat has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ハダカデバネズミ
- 简体中文
- 裸鼹鼠
- 繁體中文
- 裸濱鼠
- 한국어
- 벌거숭이뻐드렁니쥐
- Español
- Rata topo desnuda
- Français
- Rat-taupe nu
- Deutsch
- Nacktmull
- Português (Brasil)
- Rato-toupeira-pelado
- Italiano
- Eterocefalo glabro
- العربية
- خلد أمرط
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Tikus tanah telanjang
- Tiếng Việt
- Chuột chũi Đông Phi
- Русский
- Голый землекоп
- Türkçe
- Çıplak kör fare
- ไทย
- ตุ่นหนูไร้ขน
- বাংলা
- নেকেড মোল ইঁদুর
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — ハダカデバネズミChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Heterocephalus glaberChecked: 2026-11-03
- San Diego Zoo — Naked Mole-ratChecked: 2026-11-05
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Naked mole-ratChecked: 2026-11-05
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Naked mole-rat, look for this
- Look at its wrinkled pink skin.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
San Diego ZooEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Naked mole-rat
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Rodentia
MORE TO MEET
