A
fossorial is an
organism adapted to digging and life underground such as the
badger, the
naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders
Ambystomatidae. It is most commonly used as an adjective to describe the habit of living underground, even if the physical adaptations are minimal - thus, most
bees and many
wasps are called "fossorial
Hymenoptera", and a great many
rodents are considered fossorial. Some organisms are fossorial to aid in temperature regulation, while others utilize the new habit for food.
See also