What kind of animals live underground

Egyptian jerboas are the most well-known ones and can be found in Qatar, among other places. They are the smallest of the jerboas; their length reaches 4 inches on average. They live in burrows and are nocturnal, so we do not know much about these animals. Bilbies are bandicoots that have rabbit ears and are unique to Australia. They are also nocturnal creatures, just like bandicoots, but their fur is softer, and they have long ears and bushy tails, similar to those on rabbits.

Their back legs resemble those of a kangaroo, which makes them unique creatures. They are also considered a vulnerable species, and some subspecies are even considered extinct.

They can grow to be the size of a rabbit and usually live all by themselves. The fact that these animals lead solitary lives is fascinating and sad at the same time. They live in burrows that can be up to six feet deep, and they rarely move away from them.

The dwarf mongoose can be found in Africa, and it is the smallest species of mongoose. You will notice that most of these animals that live underground are extremely small.

The dwarf mongooses inhabit the eastern parts of the African continent and are known to live up to eight years. Some well-known subterranean residents, particularly earthworms, are considered an indicator of a healthy ecosystem because of their many important environmental roles, according to the University of Illinois Extension.

Some underground species are also important because their diet, whether consuming plant matter, fungi or dead animal matter, helps make our environment cleaner and healthier. Just like aboveground, the living things below are feet include both microorganisms — living things too small to see without a microscope — and macroorganisms — a living thing easily seen unaided by the human eye.

From tiny bacteria to mammals like woodchucks and moles, the world below ground is as varied as it is above the surface. In some places on Earth, the species that live below ground include humans.

In Beijing, for example, more than , people are subterranean residents of the city, the BBC reports. There are worms, of course, along with insects and other crawling creatures. Some mammals live underground either full or part time, as do some reptiles and amphibians. Decomposers are a type of organism with a very important underground job.

They feed on dead organisms — animal carcasses; leaf litter and other plant debris; wood; and even animal feces — and break it down into important nutrients used by plants and other living things, according to National Geographic. Fungi are decomposers too, as are some critters we most definitely can see, like worms and millipedes and termites. These types of decomposers are classified as detritivores.

In addition to their work creating nutrients that other organisms need to thrive, decomposers also keep our environment clean, National Geographic reports.

Without them, dead organisms of all kinds — from dead animals to dead leaves — would begin to pile up into unmanageable levels. When you think about insects that live underground, ants probably quickly come to mind. They famously live underground in large, complex colonies. Termites live similarly to ants, in large, underground colonies with complex social structures, according to the U.

Forest Service. Found mainly in North America, gophers dig up large networks of tunnels and chambers for food storage and hibernation. These tunnels are called gopher towns, which mostly cause damage to agriculture and landscapes.

Found in North America, these rodents live in large colonies. Their well-defined burrows are used for breeding, bringing up young ones and hiding from predators. The underground space is sometimes shared by other animals such as snakes, burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets. The burrowing rodents range from southwestern Canada to the western U.

They usually dig burrows under rocky areas, and their hibernation time lasts about eight months between September and May. Found in the hot and dry deserts of North America, the mammal lives in burrows to survive the extreme environment.

They mainly feed on seeds, including mesquite beans. The playful animal is comfortable on land as much as in water. It makes burrows near the water's edge for an easy to and fro from the water. There dens are also meant for female otters to deliver litters. The mole-like mammal occupies burrows built by other animals. They often leave their abodes in search of food such as insects, spiders, worms and tiny rodents. The nocturnal mammal prefer dry and open grasslands but are also found in woods, quarries, sea cliffs and moorland.

With the help of their sharp claws, they build burrows called setts, which consists of a network of tunnels. The omnivorous mammal creates underground shelter to sleep, store food and secure their babies. These dens can accommodate an entire family, and features nesting chambers and several exits to escape from predators. This species of pikas live mainly in grasslands, steppes and semi-deserts of Mongolia, Russia, and China. Featuring complex tunnels, their burrows include spaces for storing food and nesting.

Also known as Australia's Easter Bunny, the nocturnal animal creates spiral-shaped burrows. With several exits, the burrows protect these animals from predators and provide a resting place. The fast diggers take just three minutes to create deep burrows and disappear in them in no time. This species of tortoise can be found slowly moving across the desert landscapes in the southwestern U. They build burrows for resting purposes and protection from harsh temperatures.

Armadillos are nocturnal mammals that have a hard shell which resembles leather on their back. They make up the taxonomic order cingulata , with most species being sub-fossorial. They are expert burrowers and usually stay in their burrows during the day to come out during night time to forage for insects.

There are 21 species of armadillo which are spread across 9 different genera and are all native to the Americas with their distant cousins anteaters being found mostly in Africa. The pink fairy armadillo is a species which is particularly cute and spends a huge amount of time underground but is unfortunately quite rare.

Badgers belong to the family Mustelidae alongside animals such as otters, weasels and wolverines. They are omnivorous, nocturnal mammals that make dens for their families by digging through the earth. There are three families of badger: Melinae which are the European badgers, Mellivorinae are found in Africa and Taxideinae which are American. Fox and Redwall. Badgers can live in clans formed of multiple families which are termed cetes which can have up to 15 members. Other badger species take solitary lifestyles and move from home to home as they forage for food.

The family of snakes called Dwarf Boas or Tropidophiidae is found all over South and Central America, including the West Indies and resides mostly in tropical and subtropical regions.

There are only 2 general which contain 32 different species. Not all of them are fossorial but most species which are. They surface at night to hunt so that they are under the cover of darkness both for stealthy hunting and to avoid daytime predators, especially birds.