A fossil mole, believed to be five million years old, from Langebaanweg on the West Coast has been named after a University of Cape Town (UCT) zoologist, the university said on Thursday.

The creature was named after Dr Gary Bronner in recognition of his major contributions to understanding the biology of Africa's endemic and enigmatic golden moles.

The fossil, Chrysochloris bronneri, was discovered in the West Coast Fossil Park at Langebaanweg by Professor Rob Asher of Cambridge University.

Bronner was a member of an international team studying fossil golden moles that included Asher, UCT said in a media release.

The team hoped their data would improve conservation management of this exclusively African family of mammals.

Ten of the 21 species of golden mole were threatened with extinction due to sand mining, poor agricultural practices, increasing urbanisation, and predation by domestic cats and dogs.

They were called golden moles not because their fur had a golden colour, but because of its iridescent sheen, which ranged from silver through bronze, golden and violet.

The fossil mole — dating back to the early Pliocene believed to be at least 5.2 million years ago — was closely related to the living Cape golden mole.