How many baby Namaqua dune mole-rats are in a litter?
A Namaqua dune mole-rat (Bathyergus janetta) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.With 1 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 3 babies.
Upon birth, they weight 15 grams (0.03 lbs) and measure 5.2 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Bathyergidae family (genus: Bathyergus). An adult Namaqua dune mole-rat grows up to a size of 42.5 cm (1′ 5″).
To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.
The Namaqua dune mole-rat (Bathyergus janetta) is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae.It is found in Namibia and South Africa.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, 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 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.
Other animals of the family Bathyergidae
Namaqua dune mole-rat is a member of the Bathyergidae, as are these animals:
- Damaraland mole-rat with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Ansell’s mole-rat weighting only 85 grams
- Naked mole-rat with 11 babies per pregnancy
- Silvery mole-rat with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Mechow’s mole-rat with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Cape dune mole-rat with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Zambian mole-rat weighting only 76 grams
- Cape mole-rat with 5 babies per pregnancy
- Mashona mole-rat with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Common mole-rat with 2 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Namaqua dune mole-rat
Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:
- Woolly hare
- Mountain spiny pocket mouse
- Juniper vole
- Xerus erythropus
- Dusky hopping mouse
- Comb-toed jerboa
- Hog badger
- Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk
- Chinese bamboo rat
- Nephelomys albigularis
Animals with the same weight as a Namaqua dune mole-rat
What other animals weight around 389 grams (0.86 lbs)?
- Catamarca tuco-tuco weighting 316 grams
- Little red flying fox weighting 379 grams
- Southern African hedgehog weighting 337 grams
- Brazilian spiny tree-rat weighting 398 grams
- Bougainville naked-tailed rat weighting 397 grams
- European ground squirrel weighting 396 grams
- Buffy-headed marmoset weighting 374 grams
- Coquerel’s giant mouse lemur weighting 326 grams
- Red-tailed squirrel weighting 319 grams
- Greater guinea pig weighting 460 grams