The head is paler around the eyes, the sides of the face and the snout, and some individuals have a small white patch on the forehead.

The feet and claws are not enlarged for digging and are pale, with a fringe of stiff hairs around the margin of the digits.

[4] The silvery mole-rat is native to Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Malawi in East Africa.

Their foodstuffs are gathered underground by means of a long feeding passage running parallel with the surface and extending in one instance for over 100 m (300 ft).

Rather deeper in the ground, at about 30 cm (12 in), is a nesting chamber containing a hollow ball of grasses, corn husks and root skins.

When cornered, they adopt a defensive stance with head thrown back and incisors exposed.