The Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole
found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. It is the only member of the tribe Condylurini and the genus Condylura.

It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater.
It is active day and night and remains active in winter, when it has
been observed tunnelling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered
streams. Little is known about the social behavior of the species, but it is suspected that it is colonial.

The Star-nosed Mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent
fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to
function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.

تم النشر بقلم :محمـود21/01/13, 02:57 am