A team of conservationists has made an exciting discovery, capturing photographs of a species of golden mole that had not been seen for nearly nine decades. Using environmental DNA (eDNA) and specially trained sniffer dogs, scientists were able to track the elusive De Winton’s golden mole to its home in the sand dunes of South Africa.
De Winton’s golden mole is a rare creature that was previously found only in one small region in South Africa, specifically Port Nolloth on the northwest coast. This blind mole, known for its iridescent gold coat, spends most of its time underground, making it incredibly difficult to locate. Its sensitive hearing allows it to detect vibrations caused by movement on the surface, further complicating efforts to find it. Additionally, its tunnelling behavior often leads to the collapse of its burrows, leaving little evidence behind.
Since its last sighting in 1936, the existence of De Winton’s golden mole had been a mystery. The lack of information had classified it as a “Lost Species” on Re:wild’s Most Wanted Lost Species list, a program created to coordinate searches for species with unknown status.
Recently, however, the De Winton’s golden mole was officially rediscovered, marking the 11th species found through the program since its launch in 2017. Among the previous rediscoveries were the silver-backed chevrotain in Vietnam, the Somali sengi in Djibouti, Voeltzkow’s chameleon in Madagascar, the Fernandina giant tortoise in the Galápagos, Wallace’s giant bee, and Attenborough’s echidna, both in Indonesia.
Locating this elusive mole was a formidable challenge. Not only does it reside in mostly inaccessible underground environments, but due to limited information about its physical characteristics, genetics, and behavior, distinguishing De Winton’s golden mole from three closely related species in the area proved to be tricky.
To overcome this challenge, the team employed two innovative techniques. The first involved the use of eDNA, which is genetic material animals shed into the environment through skin, hair, or bodily fluids. The second technique relied on a specially trained sniffer dog to locate the mole within the vast expanse of sand dunes.
One may wonder how a sniffer dog could be trained to detect an animal without sufficient samples. The scientists devised a clever solution: they trained the dog to recognize the scents of the three known species of golden mole. During an expedition to Port Nolloth in 2021, the team discovered fresh tracks and burrows, preserved by recent rainfall. Jessie, the sniffer dog, did not sit down, indicating that the tracks belonged to an unknown species.
The researchers collected over 100 soil samples from the area and analyzed the eDNA within them. The analysis detected four species of golden mole, including the three known species, as well as an unidentified species.
However, simply detecting the unidentified DNA was not sufficient to confirm the presence of De Winton’s golden mole. In January 2022, the gene sequence of a De Winton’s golden mole specimen from a museum was publicly released. When the team compared the mysterious eDNA with the released gene sequence, they found a match.
Since then, four populations of De Winton’s golden mole have been identified. However, many questions still remain. Further research is necessary to determine the conservation requirements of the species and the most effective measures to ensure its survival. Fortunately, the next generation of sniffer dogs can now be trained to directly track these elusive creatures.
This study also serves as a promising example of the use of eDNA to identify species, a technique that has aided in the rediscovery of several lost frog species in Brazil.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
