Because they are completely blind, blind mole-rats have been important laboratory animals in tests on how eyes and eye proteins function. Although blind mole-rats have only atrophied subcutaneous eyes and are sightless, their circadian rhythm is kept.

Blind mole rats appear eyeless and earless, as the functioning remnants of these structures are covered by fur and are therefore not visible. The tiny eyes are hidden beneath the skin, and the external ears are reduced to slight folds.

De Winton’s golden mole was thought to be extinct for 87 years until it was rediscovered in November 2023. An eyeless blind mole, adorned with an iridescent coat sheen, known for its unique sand-swimming behavior and absent from scientific records since 1936, is lost no longer. Photo: JP Le Roux.

Jun 3, 2014 · Genes of the long-lived blind mole-rat help explain how the animal evades cancer and why it lost vision.

Apr 11, 2024 · On the surface, Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert might appear calm. But deep underground, blind moles covered in silky yellow fur are “swimming” through the sand.

Nov 28, 2023 · A blind mole with an iridescent coat sheen that ‘swims’ through sand and has been lost to science since 1936 is lost no longer, thanks to a team of conservationists and geneticists from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the University of Pretoria.

Dec 4, 2023 · Thanks to a sniffing dog and traces of DNA left in the sand, scientists have found a species of golden mole once thought to be “possibly extinct.” The researchers spotted the creature, called...

Sep 29, 2016 · They're also truly blind, their eyes covered in skin. Add fuzzy faces and pink noses, and the result is pretty adorable – in a tube-shaped, eyeless sort of way. The Vojvodina blind mole rat is...

The greater blind mole-rat is a fossorial species that stays underground except when dispersing to new territories as juveniles, a period of great vulnerability. It lives a solitary existence, except during the breeding season.

Jan 25, 2012 · Animals from butterflies to birds have iridescent colours to draw the eye. But why golden moles? They spend most of their lives in near-darkness – and they’re blind. Now a study of the structure...