Additional material of the enigmatic golden mole Cryptochloris zyli, with notes on the genus Cryptochloris (Mammalia: Chrysochloridae)

Abstract

Van Zyl’s golden mole (Cryptochloris zyli) is a distinctive but little-known species from the northwestern Cape Province of South Africa. Many authors have mentioned that it is known only by the holotype. Two other specimens are now known to exist; one was discovered in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and the other, which has been mentioned in publication but overlooked, is in the Natural History Museum in London. Differentiation of C. zyli from sympatric chrysochlorids, and from its congener C. wintoni, are discussed.