---
title: "What the sources say about the Star-Nosed Mole | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "53 claims from the Star-Nosed Mole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Star-Nosed Mole (*Condylura cristata*)

> 53 claims from the Star-Nosed Mole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Star-Nosed Mole](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/star-nosed-mole/)

## Condylura cristata (star-nosed mole). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Condylura_cristata/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A semi-aquatic mole | Unlike other North American moles, C. cristata is semiaquatic |
| twenty-two fleshy sensory tentacles | ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles |
| Marshes, peatlands, wet meadows, poorly drained forest and the banks of streams, lakes and ponds across eastern North America | Condylura cristata is native to eastern North America ... prefers areas of poor drainage, including both coniferous and deciduous forests, clearings, wet meadows, marshes and peatlands. Condylura cristata also inhabits the banks of streams, lakes and ponds |
| Worms including leeches, aquatic insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish | About half of its diet consists of worms (Annelida), and 80% of these are aquatic species such as leeches. Aquatic insects make up another 30% of its diet, including the larvae of caddisflies |
| crustaceans, mollusks and small fish | will also take occasional terrestrial insects, aquatic crustaceans, mollusks and small fish |
| a stout, dark mole native to eastern North America | Condylura cristata is native to eastern North America ... Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylindrical body ... The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown underneath. |
| ranging from Quebec and Newfoundland west to Manitoba and North Dakota, and south along the Appalachians and the Atlantic coast to Georgia | reaching about 55°N latitude in Québec and Newfoundland. The range extends from the Atlantic Ocean west to Manitoba and North Dakota and south to Ohio and Virginia. Condylura cristata is also found along the Atlantic coast south to Georgia as well as throughout the Appalachian mountains. |
| It measures 175 to 205 millimetres from nose to tail-tip and weighs 35 to 75 grams | Condylura cristata ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs between 35 and 75 g. |
| a scaly tail that swells to three or four times its normal diameter each winter | annulated, scaly and covered with coarse hair. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter. |
| Because a female raises only one litter a year, biologists have speculated the species may live a relatively long 3 to 4 years in the wild for an animal its size | Since a female's reproductive effort is limited to only 1 litter per year, is is speculated that C. cristata may have a relatively long lifespan for a mammal of its size, perhaps 3 to 4 years. |
| It favours marshes, peatlands, wet meadows and poorly drained forest, and lives along the banks of streams, lakes and ponds, venturing into the water for food | prefers areas of poor drainage, including both coniferous and deciduous forests, clearings, wet meadows, marshes and peatlands. Condylura cristata also inhabits the banks of streams, lakes and ponds, into which it ventures for food |
| Its diet is mostly invertebrate | Condylura cristata feeds primarily on invertebrates. |
| Worms make up about half of what it eats, 80 percent of them aquatic species such as leeches | About half of its diet consists of worms (Annelida), and 80% of these are aquatic species such as leeches. |
| aquatic insects such as caddisfly and midge larvae add another 30 percent | Aquatic insects make up another 30% of its diet, including the larvae of caddisflies (Trichoptera), midges (Chironomidae) |
| It also takes the occasional small fish, mollusk or crustacean | will also take occasional terrestrial insects, aquatic crustaceans, mollusks and small fish |
| It swims with alternating strokes of its front and hind feet in a zigzag motion | it swims underwater with alternate strokes of both front and hind feet, resulting in a characteristic zigzag motion |
| it stays active through winter, burrowing through snow and swimming beneath the ice of frozen ponds | Condylura cristata is active throughout the winter, burrowing through snow and even swimming under the ice of frozen ponds. |
| Owls and hawks hunt it from the air, foxes and weasels take it too | From the air, C. cristata is hunted by owls both large and small as well as by hawks during the day ... red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) ... long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata) |
| the semi-aquatic mink may hunt it underwater | Another mustelid, the mink, is semiaquatic and may hunt Condylura cristata underwater. |
| bullfrogs and largemouth bass are known aquatic predators | Other known aquatic predators include the bullfrog and largemouth bass. |
| Around its nostrils sits a ring of twenty-two fleshy pink rays, eleven to a side | ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles. The star is bilaterally symmetrical with 11 appendages per side |
| each ray is covered in tiny domes called Eimer's organs | Each of the 22 appendages that make up the star is completely covered with tiny papillae known as Eimer's organs. |
| Two of the three kinds of touch receptor packed into each Eimer's organ also show up in the skin of other mammals; the third is unique to this species and is thought to let it identify objects by their microscopic texture | Each Eimer's organ contains 3 types of tactile receptors, 2 of which are found in the skin of other mammals. The third type is unique to the star-nosed mole and is thought to allow the mole to identify objects by their microscopic texture. |
| Less than a square centimetre of skin carries more than 25,000 Eimer's organs | The star possesses over 25,000 Eimer's organs in a space less than 1 square cm, making it incredibly sensitive. |
| star-nosed moles seemed drawn toward batteries placed underwater and toward the parts of prey giving off the strongest electrical activity | Laboratory tests have shown that C. cristata seems to be drawn to batteries placed underwater as well as to the areas of strongest electrical activity on prey items. |
| it says the ability has not been demonstrated conclusively | Although it has not been demonstrated conclusively, it is thought that the star may also be used to detect faint electrical signals from the star-nosed mole's aquatic prey. |
| tags: subterranean | Like many other moles, C. cristata is fossorial, digging a network of tunnels through moist soil. |

## Star-Nosed Mole. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Adirondack Ecological Center.

http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/starnosed_mole.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| when it serves as a fat store | during the winter swollen in size, when it serves as a fat storage organ |
| diving for about ten seconds at a time | dives that last about 10 seconds |
| An alarmed mole can run short distances at 6.4 to 8 kilometres an hour | an alarmed star-nosed mole can run short distances at speeds of 6.4-8 km (4-5 mi) per hour |

## AnAge entry for Condylura cristata. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Condylura_cristata

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the record in captivity is 2.5 years | Record longevity in captivity, however, is only 2.5 years |
| weightKg: 0.055 | Adult weight 55.3 g (note: 55.3 g is 0.0553 kg, rounded to 0.055) |

## Cassola (2016). Condylura cristata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41458A115187740.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t41458a22322697.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Catania & Remple (2005). Asymptotic prey profitability drives star-nosed moles to the foraging speed limit. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03250

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| can identify and eat a piece of prey in as little as 120 milliseconds | Here we report handling times as short as 120 ms (mean 227 ms) for moles identifying and eating prey. |
| A star-nosed mole can identify and eat a piece of prey in as little as 120 milliseconds, with a mean of 227 milliseconds | Here we report handling times as short as 120 ms (mean 227 ms) for moles identifying and eating prey. |
| "Double takes" during prey identification suggest it has reached the speed limit for processing touch | 'Double takes' during prey identification suggest that star-nosed moles have reached the speed limit for processing tactile information. |
| a prey item's profitability, the energy gained divided by the time spent handling it, increases dramatically as handling time approaches zero | Prey profitability (energy gained divided by prey handling time) is an essential variable for estimating the optimal diet. Time constraints of capturing and consuming prey generally result in handling times ranging from minutes to seconds, yet profitability increases dramatically as handling time approaches zero |
| A 2005 study argued that the star-nosed mole's unusual anatomy and behaviour came from progressively stronger selection for speed, since each tiny gain in speed let it add smaller prey to its diet | tiny increments in speed increase profitability markedly, allowing expanded diets of smaller prey). We provide evidence that the unusual anatomical and behavioural specializations characterizing star-nosed moles resulted from progressively stronger selection for speed, allowing the progressive addition of small prey to their diet (note: the year 2005 is the reference's own publication year; "since" paraphrases the abstract's "allowing") |
| a mole that can identify and eat prey in as little as 120 milliseconds | handling times as short as 120 ms (mean 227 ms) for moles identifying and eating prey (note: vibe.reason: replaces an unsourced 'eight milliseconds' (wave 113 final pass)) |

## Catania (2006). Underwater 'sniffing' by semi-aquatic mammals. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/4441024a

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| sniffing underwater with exhaled air bubbles | both species exhale air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then re-inspire the bubbles to carry the smell back through the nose |
| It can even smell underwater by re-sniffing bubbles of its own exhaled air | both species exhale air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then re-inspire the bubbles to carry the smell back through the nose |
| A 2006 study described the same underwater sniffing in the semi-aquatic water shrew: while underwater, both species exhale air bubbles onto objects or scent trails, then breathe the bubbles back in | I describe a mechanism for underwater sniffing used by the semi-aquatic star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) and water shrew (Sorex palustris). While underwater, both species exhale air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then re-inspire the bubbles to carry the smell back through the nose. (note: the year 2006 is the reference's own publication year) |
| The study noted that mammals were widely held to be unable to smell underwater, since they cannot draw in air there | it is widely held that mammals cannot use olfaction underwater because it is impossible for them to inspire air (sniff) to convey odorants to the olfactory epithelium |

## Catania (2011). The sense of touch in the star-nosed mole: from mechanoreceptors to the brain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0128

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The Fastest Known Forager Among Mammals | Star-nosed moles are the fastest known foragers among mammals |
| it is the fastest known forager among mammals | Star-nosed moles are the fastest known foragers among mammals, able to identify and consume a small prey item in 120 ms. |

## Catania (1999). A nose that looks like a hand and acts like an eye: the unusual mechanosensory system of the star-nosed mole. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s003590050396

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Twenty-Two Rays Devoted to Touch | The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) has a snout surrounded by 22 fleshy and mobile appendages ... Rather, the star is devoted to the sense of touch |
| The star is devoted to the sense of touch | Rather, the star is devoted to the sense of touch |

## Catania & Remple (2003). Tactile Foveation in the Star-Nosed Mole. Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000073755

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Eimer's organs on twenty-two nasal rays that touch new spots about thirteen times a second | the star, which is just over a centimeter in diameter, was touched to different areas of the environment approximately 13 times per second |
| While foraging, the star touches a new spot about thirteen times a second | Mole foraging behavior was very fast; the star, which is just over a centimeter in diameter, was touched to different areas of the environment approximately 13 times per second. |
| it makes rapid saccades, like an eye's, to bring its lowest pair of rays onto prey it has touched, at up to around 40 centimetres a second | A pair of appendages (the 11th pair on the ventral midline) acts as the tactile fovea ... star-nosed moles made rapid, saccadic movements of the star to investigate the contacted prey with the foveal appendages. The movements of the star were similar to visual saccades in other species. Maximum velocity of the star during saccades was approximately 40 cm/s |

## Catania (2000). Epidermal Sensory Organs of Moles, Shrew Moles, and Desmans: A Study of the Family Talpidae with Comments on the Function and Evolution of Eimer's Organ. Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000047201

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| which nearly all other members of the mole family share | Small domed mechanosensory organs called 'Eimer's organs' were present on the rhinarium of nearly all species of talpids |
| A 2000 study found Eimer's organs on nearly all species of mole, shrew-mole and desman, but not on shrews, which suggests the common ancestor of the mole family had them | The epidermal sensory organs of members of the family Talpidae (moles, shrew-moles, and desmans) ... were present on the rhinarium of nearly all species of talpids, but not among the sister group of shrews (Soricidae) or other insectivore families. This suggests that the common ancestor to the talpids possessed Eimer's organs. (note: the year 2000 is the reference's own publication year) |
| Two mole species from the driest habitats showed none, and desmans carry tiny sensory hairs among their Eimer's organs that may sense water currents | Two species of moles from the driest habitats did not exhibit Eimer's organs ... The semi-aquatic desmans uniquely possessed tiny sensory hairs interspersed with their Eimer's organs; these may act to sense water currents. |