This burrowing mole has soft gray-black fur, tiny eyes, and shovel-shaped forefeet in the Taiwanese subspecies. Species-level range records include Taiwan and Hainan Island.
The Taiwanese subspecies has soft gray-black fur, tiny eyes, and shovel-shaped forefeet for digging.
It spends day and night in underground tunnels and may come to the surface at night to feed on insect larvae, earthworms, and roots.
The Taiwanese subspecies uses keen smell and touch to move and find prey in dark underground spaces.
In Taiwan, it also inhabits low-elevation grassland, bamboo groves, orchards, and vegetable plots.
The Taiwanese subspecies lacks external ear flaps, has a very short tail, and bears long claws on its forefeet.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.