Naked Mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Eastern Africa: Horn of Africa and adjacent region

(Hamilton 1928; Hill et al. 1957; Jarvis and Sherman 2002; Maree and Faulkes 2016, except as noted)

• Somalia
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Djibouti (Pearch et al. 2001)

Notes on distribution

• Only subterranean rodent within its distribution (Patterson 2016)
• Range may larger than presently known
• Also see Movements and Dispersal

Elevation range

• 300 to 1,500 m (900 to 4,900 ft) asl (Patterson 2016)

Habitat

• Arid scrub and semi-desert biomes in Horn of Africa (Maree and Faulkes 2016; Patterson 2016)
  • High temperatures
  • Low irregular rainfall
    • 200 to 400 mm (8 to 20 in) per year
• Soil types (Jarvis and Sherman 2002; Maree and Faulkes 2016; Patterson 2016)
  • Most common in hard, compact soils (lateric loams), where their food plants grow
  • Also found in fine sand and pure gypsum
  • Avoid rocky or soft, loose soils
• Live in underground burrow system (Braude 1991; Patterson 2016)
  • Air conditions
    • Low oxygen, high carbon dioxide (Patterson 2016)
    • Humid
  • Rarely above ground
  • Also see Burrows

Naked mole-rats are found in arid scrub and semi-desert habitat in the Horn of Africa.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).