Fossorial
![Cape ground squirrel.](/Images/godic/202501/14/Erdhörnchen_0112430.jpg")
![Galeries dans des sédiments fossilisés, creusées par de crustacés fouisseurs de l'époque Jurassique (Sud d'Israël)](/Images/godic/202501/14/ThalassinoidesIsrael2430.JPG")
![Le Lystrosaurus est un reptile fouisseur de l'ordre des Thérapsides – ou reptiles mammaliens – . Il vécut entre le Permien supérieur et le Trias supérieur. C'est l'une des rares grandes espèces rescapées de la grande extinction du Permien ( peut-être en partie grâce à sa capacité à se protéger sous le sol ?)](/Images/godic/202501/14/Lystr_georg1DB2430.jpg")
![Amphisbène, reptile fouisseur présentant de nombreuses adaptation au fouissage](/Images/godic/202501/14/Amphisbaenia2430.JPG")
A fossorial (from Latin fossor, "digger") animal is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole-rat, or the mole salamanders.
Most bees and many wasps are called "fossorial Hymenoptera", and a great many rodents are considered fossorial although the physical adaptations to living underground are minimal. Nevertheless, mostly from 2000 on, for rodents the term fossorial has been used for species that live in burrows during a considerable part of the day but are surface-dwelling during other parts of the day, while for species that live all their life underground (or at least almost all the time) the term subterranean has been applied.