The northeast African mole-rat (Tachyoryctes splendens) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae and is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, and northwest Kenya.

[2] Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, dry savanna, high-altitude shrubland and grassland.

It is an adaptable species and able to live in a range of habitats including savanna, moist tropical forest, agricultural land, pasture, coffee plantations and gardens.

[3] Some researchers found that their olfactory systems have increased surface area and are highly complex, an evolved trait that may have occurred due to their lifestyle of living in a community with less individuals.

The researchers hypothesized that flooding might encourage the animal to disperse to new areas and that the wet ground would make digging the new burrow easier.