Star-nosed mole
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus | Species | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Animalia | Chordata | Mammalia | Eulipotyphia | Talpidae | Condylura | C. cristata |
Anatomy
Star-nosed moles are small mammals that have dark, velvety fur, small ears and eyes, and large front paws that are used for digging. The star-nosed mole is most easily identifiable by its nose, which has 22 tendrils that the mole uses to sense its environment. Star-nosed moles are functionally blind and rely on their nose for navigation and identification. Even though the size of their nose is around 1 centimeter, it is covered in 25,000 sensory receptor organs known as Eimer's organ. Most moles have many of these sensory organs but star-nosed moles have the highest number of them. For comparison, star-nosed moles have around 6 times more sensory organs in their noses than humans have on their hand, meaning that their noses are highly sensitive. Due to their sensitivity, these receptors aid moles in locating and identifying possible food sources and navigating their environment. The journal Nature awarded star-nosed moles as the fastest-eating mammal as studies have shown that these moles can take 120 milliseconds to identify and eat food. This is in comparison to the average amount of time, which is reported as 227 milliseconds.
Habitat and range
Star-nosed moles live in moist lowland habitats in the eastern half of North America. They can be found in multiple different biomes, including forests, marshes, shrubland, and mountains. They are semi-aquatic mammals and prefer wet environments but have been found in drier habitats as well.
Diet and behaviors
Star-nosed moles are primarily vermivorous, meaning that they feed on organisms such as annelids and nematodes. They also eat insects, larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish. They are excellent swimmers and forage for food on the bottom of freshwater bodies of water. They also forage in soil by creating shallow tunnels beneath the surface. Moles can be viewed as pests because their burrowing behavior can damage lawns and gardens. However, moles play an important role in eliminating any potential harmful insects and aerating the soil, creating a more productive environment. Because of the amount of time that moles spend in underground burrows, it has been found that they can survive in environments with little oxygen by effectively reusing the air. They are also able to tolerate higher amounts of carbon dioxide than other animals due to their blood cells having a special variation of hemoglobin.