Life beneath the surface of the Earth is filled with unique challenges and adaptations. Subterranean habitats provide shelter from extreme temperatures, predators, and harsh weather. Many inhabitants have evolved specialized bodies and behaviors to navigate tight tunnels, dig efficiently through soil, and find food in complete darkness. Life underground is often hidden from view, but it is highly complex and interconnected.
One remarkable adaptation is the development of extensive burrow systems. These underground networks serve as protection, resting areas, and storage for food. They can be simple or highly intricate, with multiple chambers and passageways. Some subterranean dwellers live in social communities, working together to expand their tunnels and maintain safety for the group.
Nourishment in underground environments is often scarce. Residents rely on roots, seeds, small invertebrates, or other sources that can be found beneath the soil. Many have evolved keen senses beyond sight, such as heightened smell, touch, or vibration detection, to locate resources in complete darkness. Energy conservation is also key, allowing survival during periods when food is limited.
Mobility is another critical factor. Many subterranean dwellers have strong limbs or specialized appendages to dig efficiently through soil, sand, or rock. Their bodies are often streamlined for moving through narrow tunnels. Some can move quickly to escape threats, while others remain motionless, relying on camouflage or protective burrow walls for safety.
Reproduction and lifecycle strategies are finely tuned to underground life. Many subterranean dwellers breed in protected tunnels to keep offspring safe from predators. Timing is often linked to seasonal changes or the availability of resources, ensuring that young have the best chance of survival. Burrows also provide stable temperatures and humidity, which are critical for developing young.
Animals That Live Underground
Naked Mole-Rat
Found in East Africa, primarily Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, naked mole-rats live in complex underground tunnels. They are highly social and organized in colonies, similar to ants. Their skin is almost hairless, reducing friction as they dig, and they can survive low oxygen levels underground.
Prairie Dog
Native to North America, prairie dogs live in large burrow systems called “towns” in grasslands and prairies. These underground networks protect them from predators and harsh weather. Prairie dogs are highly social, using vocal calls to warn of danger.
European Mole
Common in Europe, moles spend almost their entire lives underground. They have specialized digging limbs and highly sensitive snouts for detecting insects and worms. Their tunnels help them avoid predators and harsh surface temperatures.
Aardvark
Found in sub-Saharan Africa, aardvarks dig deep burrows both for shelter and for finding food such as termites and ants. Their strong claws allow them to excavate soil efficiently, and they often use abandoned burrows for resting.
Wombat
Native to Australia, wombats dig extensive burrows for shelter from predators and extreme weather. They have sturdy limbs and blunt claws adapted for digging, and their cube-shaped droppings help mark territory around their underground homes.
Burrowing Owl
Unlike most owls, burrowing owls nest and live in underground burrows, often ones abandoned by other animals, in North and South America. Living underground protects them from predators, and they use the burrows for raising their young.
Fennec Fox (Burrowing Behavior)
Although they are small desert mammals in North Africa, fennec foxes spend much of their time in underground dens to escape extreme heat. Their burrows are complex and can be shared with other foxes for social living.
Pangolin
Found in Africa and Asia, pangolins dig burrows to sleep in and to escape predators. Their strong claws allow them to break through soil easily, and underground living keeps them safe while they forage for ants and termites nearby.
Mole-Rat (Damaraland Mole-Rat)
Native to southern Africa, this mole-rat lives entirely underground in large colonies. It has strong digging limbs and social structures similar to naked mole-rats, thriving in arid environments where underground life protects it from predators and heat.
Blind Cave Fish
Found in subterranean rivers and caves in Mexico and other parts of the world, blind cave fish have adapted to life without light. They lack functional eyes and rely on other senses, such as touch and vibration detection, to navigate and find food in dark underground waters.
Common Weta
Native to New Zealand, the common weta is an insect that lives in burrows beneath soil, rocks, or fallen logs. These underground shelters protect it from predators and extreme temperatures while providing a moist environment necessary for survival.
Eastern Mole
Found in eastern North America, the eastern mole spends most of its life in underground tunnels. It has powerful forelimbs for digging and sensitive whiskers to detect prey like insects and worms in complete darkness.
Desert Burrowing Scorpion
Native to deserts of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern United States, these scorpions spend the daytime in deep burrows to avoid extreme heat. They hunt primarily at night, emerging from underground shelter to feed on insects.
Armadillo
Found in the Americas, armadillos dig extensive burrows to hide from predators and escape heat. Their strong claws and armored bodies make them efficient diggers, and burrows provide shelter for sleeping, nesting, and raising young.
Trapdoor Spider
Trapdoor spiders inhabit deserts, forests, and grasslands around the world. They live in burrows with camouflaged “trapdoors” made of soil and silk, ambushing prey that passes nearby while remaining hidden and protected underground.
European Rabbit
Native to southwestern Europe, these rabbits dig burrows called warrens for shelter, reproduction, and predator avoidance. Underground living provides safety from weather extremes and supports large social colonies.
Mole Cricket
Found worldwide in temperate and tropical regions, mole crickets are insects that dig extensive tunnels underground. Their specialized forelimbs allow rapid excavation, and the tunnels provide protection while hunting roots, insects, and other soil organisms.
African Lungfish
In African deserts and seasonal rivers, the lungfish burrows into mud during dry periods. It can survive months underground in a state of aestivation, breathing air through its lungs until water returns and it can resume feeding.
Golden Mole
Native to southern Africa, golden moles are small mammals that spend almost all of their lives underground. They have powerful digging claws, reduced eyes, and a streamlined body for tunneling efficiently while avoiding predators and extreme surface conditions.
Star-Nosed Mole
Found in wetlands and moist soils of eastern North America, the star-nosed mole is adapted for underground life with a highly sensitive snout that detects prey in complete darkness. It digs rapidly, creating extensive tunnel networks for hunting and shelter.
California Ground Squirrel
Native to California and other parts of western North America, this squirrel digs burrows to escape predators and harsh weather. Underground tunnels provide a safe place for nesting and storing food, and the colonies often contain multiple interconnected burrows.
Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Found in North America, the eastern spadefoot toad burrows into sandy or loose soil to avoid extreme heat and dehydration. It emerges mainly after rains to feed and reproduce, remaining underground for much of the year.
Blind Salamander
Native to subterranean caves in Europe and North America, blind salamanders have adapted to life in complete darkness. They lack functional eyes and use highly sensitive skin and smell to navigate, hunt, and avoid predators underground.
Pocket Gopher
Found across North and Central America, pocket gophers dig extensive burrow systems to find roots and tubers. Their strong forelimbs and ever-growing teeth allow them to excavate soil efficiently, and they rarely surface, staying protected underground.
European Burrowing Worm
Common in soils across Europe, these worms live underground where they aerate soil, feed on organic matter, and create tunnels. Their subterranean activity is essential for soil health and nutrient cycling.
Indian Star Tortoise (Burrowing Behavior)
Native to India and Sri Lanka, these tortoises dig shallow burrows to escape extreme heat and predators. Burrows also provide a safe environment for resting, breeding, and conserving moisture in dry habitats.
Mole Snake
Found in southern Africa, the mole snake spends much of its life underground hunting burrowing rodents. Its cylindrical body and smooth scales allow it to move efficiently through tunnels while avoiding surface dangers.
Burrowing Cicada
These insects are found in various regions worldwide, living underground for years in their nymph stage. They feed on root sap, and after maturation, they emerge briefly above ground to reproduce before returning their next generation underground.