molerat, noun
/ˈməʊlræt/
- Origin:
- EnglishShow more Transferred use of general English molerat a name applied to any rodent of the Spalacidae, or (British dialect) to the common mole; named for its burrowing habits.
1. Any of several species of rodent of the Bathyergidae, especially a. the sand-mole Bathyergus suillus; b. the Common molerat (see sense 2 below); and c. the Cape molerat (see sense 2 below).
- Note:
- In early writings, molerats are usually called ‘moles’ (see quotation 1980).
[1795 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. I. 213The gardens both within and without the town, suffer great devastation from three or four different species of rats, which are generally termed moles...Moles also are found in the sand-downs near the town.]
1992 Bennett & Jarvis in Afr. Wildlife Vol.46 No.4, 167The mole-rats, family Bathyergidae, are endemic to the African continent.
2. With defining word designating a particular species of molerat:
1986 R.H.N. Smithers Land Mammals 55Cape Dune Molerat,..Occurs only in the extreme southwestern parts of the Cape Province, in sandy soil.
1990 Skinner & Smithers Mammals of Sn Afr. Subregion 190Common molerats are capable of using a wide diversity of substrates...Over part of their range, in the southwestern Cape province, they occur sympatrically with Georychus capensis, Bathyergus suillus or B. janetta.
the sand-mole Bathyergus suillus;
the Common molerat (see sense 2 below); and
the Cape molerat (see sense 2 below).
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.