Notoryctes has no functional eyes, only vestigial lenses beneath the skin, and no external ears. Two enlarged flat claws on each forefoot work as excavating blades while the hind feet shovel sand backwards, and a keratinous shield over the muzzle takes the abrasion. The animal moves through the sand in a swimming motion rather than excavating a stable gallery, typically within the top few metres and mostly after rain, when moisture holds the sand together enough to work.
Several features track the same underground life independently of true moles: reduced eyes, a fused neck vertebral column for rigidity, and a rearward-opening pouch that keeps sand off the young. It eats insect larvae, ants and small reptiles taken while moving.
The conservation listing is weak evidence rather than reassurance. The species is classed as Least Concern largely because so few surveys can detect it at all; the animal is known mostly from occasional surface encounters, tracks and remains in predator scats, and no reliable population estimate exists.