biology

Gunning's golden mole

Gunning's golden mole is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gunning's golden mole rather than just read about it. In short: Gunning's golden mole (Neamblysomus gunningi) is a small mammal endemic to South Africa. It was listed in 2006 as an endangered species.

Key takeaways

Gunning's golden mole belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gunning's golden mole to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gunning's golden mole from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gunning's golden mole (Neamblysomus gunningi) is a small mammal endemic to South Africa. It was listed in 2006 as an endangered species. Its decreasing numbers are due to habitat clearance or destruction and predation from domesticated cats and dogs. It is a burrowing animal and spends the majority of its time underground.

Characteristics The upper parts are a dark golden-brown tinged with a slight iridescence and the underparts are a lighter brown with a golden sheen. It has a compact, streamlined body and a wedge-shaped head and pointed muzzle. It has muscular shoulders, short powerful forelimbs and strong digging claws. The third claw is enlarged and there is no fifth digit and only a vestigial first and fourth digit. The hind feet retain all five toes and are webbed to allow efficient backward shoveling of the soil loosened with the front claws. The ears are buried in the dense fur and the vestigial eyes are covered by hairy skin. The length is between 11 and 13 centimetres (4.3 and 5.1 in). Males weigh 56–70 grams (2.0–2.5 oz) and females 39–56 grams (1.4–2.0 oz).

Biology Golden moles have a high metabolic rate and are able to enter into a state of torpor in response to cold temperatures. This enables them to survive in areas where temperatures can be low and food scarce. When burrowing and foraging near the surface they create raised ridges of soil that are visible above ground. There is also a system of deeper tunnels which are used for resting and for the rearing of young. The diet is mostly earthworms, insect larvae and other small invertebrates.

Range and habitat The golden mole is known only from the far northern Drakensberg, at Woodbush Forest and New Agatha Forest Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa, where it inhabits montane forest and grasslands, cultivated farmland and young pine plantations. It prefers moist soil near watercourses and ponds. Because of this limited range it is vulnerable to any detrimental human activities within the area and its status is given as an endangered species in the IUCN Red List.

References

External links Gunning's golden mole at AfricanFauna.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gunning's golden mole

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gunning's golden mole claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gunning's golden mole before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gunning's golden mole ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gunning's golden mole

In research: Gunning's golden mole appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gunning's golden mole in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gunning's golden mole is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Afrosoricida, Endemic fauna of South Africa, IUCN Red List endangered species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gunning's golden mole outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gunning's golden mole in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gunning's golden mole means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gunning's golden mole out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gunning's golden mole in simple terms?

Gunning's golden mole (Neamblysomus gunningi) is a small mammal endemic to South Africa. It was listed in 2006 as an endangered species.

Why does Gunning's golden mole matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gunning's golden mole?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gunning's golden mole.