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Star-nosed mole - CONDYLURA CRESTATA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Mole": "Mole" is the Middle English word for the animal.
Description: A round-bodied insectivore of rat size, with long muzzle and nostrils surrounded by a naked, fleshy disc bearing 22 tapering tentacles, the star-nosed mole has small concealed eyes, no external ears, and a long scaly tail. It has fairly long limbs and large hands surrounded by a row of bristles. Its fur is fine, short, and black or near-black. Head and body length 4.8 to 5.2 in; weight 2.5 to 4.2 oz.
Location: Southeastern Canada; eastern United States from North Dakota to Indiana, east to the Atlantic Ocean, south through the Appalachians to southeastern Georgia.
Habitat: Terrestrial, aquatic and fossorial. Marshes, stream banks, lake shores, wet meadows.
Behavior: The startling nose appendages immediately set this mole apart from the five other North American species, which more closely resemble the European mole. Less fossorial (burrowing) and more aquatic than other species, the star-nosed mole forages on the surface, mostly at night, and excavates shallow tunnels through wet soil. An able swimmer, it uses its tentacles to cover the nostrils in water, as well as to keep dirt out when digging. The nasal tentacles also serve as sensitive feelers. This colonial species eats aquatic insects, worms, crustaceans, and mollusks.
Reproduction: Breeding begins in February, with a gestation of about 45 days. The single annual litter of two to seven young are born in late March or June, and leave the nest when three weeks old.
Go to the Insectivores Page to get a general discussion of these animals.
Go to the Cape Mole or the European Mole to study the other America Zoo moles.
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