The face and nose pad are often paler in color than the back. The underparts are light, almost white or creamy in some individuals. The fur is soft, fine, and dense. Distinguishing features of this genus are the presence of temporal bullae and the two well-developed foreclaws. The second foreclaw is shorter than the third, the first claw is still shorter, and the fourth digit is represented by a small tubercle.
Females have four mammae.
In Uganda these golden moles live at elevations as high as 2,800 meters. They usually burrow just below the surface of the ground, so that fresh workings may be traced by the cracked and ridged ground surfaces above the shallow tunnels. Occasionally, however, golden moles burrow downward to such depths that they must remove soil from the burrow, which they push to the surface of the ground as mounds of fresh soil. They are common in certain areas and are often found in gardens, where they can burrow in the loose, cultivated soil. Sometimes they make short, overland journeys at night.