The pelage has a metallic luster or iridescence of red, yellow, green, bronze, or violet. The muzzle terminates in a smooth, leathery pad, used in working in the soil, and the nostrils are located under a fold of skin at the front of the long snout. The ears are small and concealed in the pelage. The anterior walls of the chest cavity are deeply hollowed to provide space for the thick, muscular arms. The hind feet have naked soles and five sharp-clawed toes connected by membranous skin.
Females have one pair of abdominal mammae and one pair of inguinal mammae.
The urogenital system has a single external opening. Amblysomus has the same number of incisors, canines, and premolars but only 2 molars above and 2 below, making a total of 36 teeth. The teeth are slightly separated from each other. The molars have two lateral cusps and one medial cusp, with an enamel ridge on each side of the medial cusp. Golden moles have high-crowned teeth, with the crowns of the lower teeth being twice as high as those of the upper teeth.