The rough-haired golden mole (Chrysospalax villosus ) is a species of mammal that live mostly below ground. They have shiny coats of dense fur and a streamlined, formless appearance. They have no visible eyes or ears; in fact, they are blind - the small eyes are covered with hairy skin. The ears are small and are hidden in the animal's fur.
The rough-haired golden mole is generally larger than most of the other species of golden mole, with a total length of 120–175 mm and a mass of 90-160 g. In the Transvaal region which is associated with land north of modern-day Vaal river in South Africa, males had an average mass of 105 grams while females had a range of mass from 65 to 142 grams. It characteristically has a coarse and long pelage with hairs 18–20 mm long on the back. The glossy individual hairs of the guard coat on the mid-back are slate-grey at the base with reddish brown to brown at the tip. The under fur is woolly and grey. The claws of the third digit on the front feet are powerful and about 1.6 cm in length.
Its natural habitats are temperate grasslands, arable lands, pasturelands, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas. Historically throughout Africa it was found scattered throughout the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. One particular historical site for the mole has been completely transformed by urbanization, the greater Pretoria West region of Gauteng which consists of grasslands where extensive searches for this species over the last 10 years have not yielded any sign of their presence. The Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Mpumulanga provincial conservation departments are currently attempting to document and record potential habitat sites that may support rough-haired golden mole populations. There is major concern by these bodies that this mammal may be more threatened than its red list status suggests. The rareness of the species is exemplified by the fact that the capture of one individual in the Glengary region of KwaZulu-Natal in 2003 was the first specimen recorded since 1974, nearly 30 years ago.
The rough-haired golden mole sometimes feeds above ground, and, when it does, it roots about like a pig in search of worms and insects. It walks at night to foraging sites that are recognizable by the disturbed soil where these golden moles have rooted for insects with their horny nose pads. They have a pair of bones, called tabulars, in the occipital area of the skull, which are not found in other mammals. The zygomatic arches are formed by elongations of the maxillae. The malleus is tremendously enlarged, and it has been suggested that this actually aids hearing underground (that is, the detection of ground-born vibrations).The diet comprises insects and earthworms, but has not been well documented. It is possible that they are generalists that will take any invertebrate or even small vertebrate prey they come across, as is the case with the giant golden mole, Chrysospalax tervelyani.
Very little information is known about this aspect of their life history. Roberts (1951) recorded a female with two fetuses, but gave no date of recover of specimen.
