The Namaqua dune mole-rat (''Bathyergus janetta'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family Bathyergidae found in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

, caves, and sandy shores. The IUCN assessment states that :

Although the extent of occurrence is less than 20,000 km², and the potential impact of
diamond mining Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
remains to be quantified, at present, there is no reason to believe that the species is declining, and its presence in areas entirely restricted to public access (and with extremely high protection) suggest it should be Least Concern.

References

Bathyergus Rodents of Africa Mammals of Namibia Mammals of South Africa Mammals described in 1904 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{rodent-stub