MARSUPIAL MOLE

(NOTORYCTES TYPHLOPS)

Meet Australia’s unusual mole. Unlike its placental cousins from around the world, the life cycle of this small mammal is closer to a kangaroo than a common mole. As a marsupial, foetuses are partly developed in the womb, then are born into the mother’s pouch to suckle milk until they have grown up enough to leave. However, there have been no recorded sightings of any marsupial mole pups in the wild, so it remains unclear what the time period is until they become adults. Marsupial moles do not create residential networks of tunnels or a permanent burrow. Instead they are solitary nomads that continually burrow through sand, simultaneously filling in the tunnel behind them. They have evolved in such a way that allows them to survive on the small percentage of oxygen between the grains of sand.

These moles are typically insectivores, but have been known to feast on small reptiles, like this unlucky gecko © Getty