Mole star: photo and description

Many believe that moles spend their entire lives underground and tirelessly dig underground tunnels. This is only partly true. The fact is that in nature there is a species of these animals that can live not only underground, but also on its surface, and even in water.

Condylura cristata (star-nosed mole) is a magnificent swimmer. Once in the water, he does not miss the opportunity to eat small fish, crustaceans, mollusks.

Habitat

The mole is found in the southeast of Canada, the northeastern regions of the United States. He prefers to settle on wet and damp sites: on the banks of streams, in damp forests and in swampy terrain.

Features of behavior

This mole is different from its closest relatives by the fact that it quite often comes to the surface of the earth. Meanwhile, like all moles, he digs long underground tunnels. A large earth hill on the surface is the entrance to his home.

The star-nosed mole, a photo and description of which does not often appear on the pages of domestic publications for nature lovers, equips its house in a rotten stump or under marsh bumps. He carefully lays it with moss and dry leaves. A few underground tunnels lead to the pond.

Crown Starship: A Brief Description

Our today's hero is a creature unusual in all respects, but its main distinctive feature is undoubtedly the memorable appearance. What is noticeable externally mole star? The photo below shows 22 soft tentacles. They grow around a bare oval stigma. All this unusual construction looks like an asterisk.

Each appendage is a tentacle with a length of up to 4 mm. All of them are very sensitive and mobile. Scions have a variety of nerve endings, receptors and blood vessels. Scientists call them the organs of Eymer. They are designed to perceive and transmit information.

Out of 22, only 2 rays are always fixed. The rest are constantly exploring the surrounding space, studying the prey. They instantly determine whether it can be eaten or not. The animal needs only eight milliseconds to determine the quality of its prey.

According to the constitution, the star-like star differs little from its relatives: its body is strong, has a cylindrical shape. The head is elongated, on the short neck. The eyes are very small, barely noticeable. There are no ears. On the forepaws, the fingers are long, spatulate, and have large flattened claws.

The limbs are unusually turned outward, which helps the mole to carry out earthworks. Hind paws five-toed, they are similar in structure to the forelegs, but not so adapted to digging underground passages. When you look at a photo, you may get the wrong impression that this is a huge monster - a mole star. The size of the animal is in fact from 10 to 13 cm.

Another approximately 8 cm in length adds a tail. It is much longer than other moles, covered with thick, stiff hair. In winter, it stores fat. Therefore, in the autumn it increases in thickness by almost four times. The total mass of the animal does not exceed 80 grams.

Wool and color

The mole is covered with much stiffer wool than ordinary moles. Its uniqueness lies also in the fact that it practically does not get wet. The coat color can be from dark brown to blue-black.

Food

The star grouse can find food everywhere and under any conditions: on the surface of the earth and in the depths, in the water. For the most part, the ration of animals consists of mollusks, earthworms, larvae, small fishes. In the food of the animal even small mice and frogs fall.

The sensitivity of the tentacles located on the nose helps the mole to find prey, which it holds with its front paws. The animal is characterized by a rapid grip, which allows it to be considered one of the most nimble predators on Earth.

In the summer, when the food is abundant, the mole star is able to eat as much as it weighs itself. In other periods, he consumes an average of 35 grams of feed.

Lifestyle

The mole star, like all his closest relatives, devotes most of his life to the digging of numerous underground passages. Some of them lead to the pond, others are connected to the chambers for rest. The upper courses, which are located closer to the surface of the earth, are intended for hunting, deeper - for sheltering and rearing offspring. The length of underground labyrinths can reach three hundred meters. It's interesting that the animal moves faster than the rat runs around.

In winter, the star can spend a long time in the water under the ice. In hibernation, animals do not fall, they hunt not only in the daytime, but also at night on the inhabitants of water bodies. Under a layer of snow, these moles are looking for wintering insects. On the surface of the soil, star-noses are much more active than ordinary moles. They have their own paths in the fallen foliage and dense thickets along which the small living creatures move. For one day this mole makes up to six hunting trips. In between, he rests and digests the prey.

Starfishers can create small colonies. On one hectare is settled up to forty individuals. Such groups, as a rule, are unstable and quite often disintegrate. It is interesting that heterosexuals also communicate outside the mating season.

Enemies

The star groom is always looking for food, but he himself is an object of hunting for dogs, night birds, foxes, skunks, martens. Underwater, it can become a prey for bullfrogs and large-bass perches. In winter, when there is not enough forage, predators often dig the star-bearing animals out of the underground holes.

Offspring

Females of this species produce offspring once a year. About forty-five days continue pregnancy. At the end of this period, two to seven cubs appear on the light. They are born completely naked and helpless, but grow very quickly. By the tenth day their body is covered with wool.

The female feeds the cubs with milk for three to four weeks. By ten months they are already sexually mature, capable of reproduction.

Interesting Facts

1. All the tentacles on the nose of the star-tree are covered with a unique epidermis, which is not found in any of the mammals.
2. "Asterisk" on the nose is equipped with more than 25 thousand miniature papillae, whose diameter is about 50 micrometers. Each of them is permeated with numerous nerve endings. The entire complex organ is about six times more sensitive than the pads of the human fingers.
3. Individual receptors on these stellate outgrowths are sensitive to rubbing, but do not respond at all to pressure. Others, on the contrary, are more susceptible to pressure. All of them are interspersed, so the animal feels equally well any touches to its "star".
4. There is an opinion that the mole nose of this species catches the weakest electrical impulses created by contracting the muscles of its victim. This greatly facilitates the animal search for food.