A Little Bit More
The Star-nosed Mole is certainly one of North America’s most unusual looking mammals. Moles in general are not often seen, but when this little mammal turns up, it gets a lot of attention. Although we think of moles as living their lives underground, this mole spends more time above than any of the other mole species. Furthermore, Star-nosed Moles are competent swimmers and often search for food underwater. Most moles have rather short tails but the Star-nosed Mole has a longer tail and one that increases in girth in late winter and early spring when it serves as a fat reservoir. The tail thickens to about the size of a pencil and is believed to serve as an energy reserve for the breeding season.
The little finger-like projections on its nose are constantly on the move when the animal is active but their function hasn’t been completely nailed down yet. At one point in the early 90’s, studies suggested that the fingers acted like electroreceptors to pick up electric fields from its prey. But more recent research seems to indicate that they function as especially sensitive touch receptors. Always interesting to find out that there is much for science to learn about our natural world – even that which is close at hand.
Star-nosed Moles are active both above and below ground and prefer wet, swampy soil although they do turn up in peoples’ yards too. Food for this mole consists of worms, insects, and underwater crustaceans. Star-nosed Moles have few predators but are preyed upon by hawks, owls, and skunks. One mole was even found in the stomach of a Corn Snake and even housecats take an occasional mole or two.
Activities
Moles in the news
Objectives: Use internet to research specific information
Materials: internet access, paper and pencil
You’ve already done this before so it should be a familiar process for your students to see what they can find via the internet on moles and mole fur. Challenge your students to find out what they can on a very specific subject - mole fur. Mole fur is unusual in that it can be stroked in either direction, forwards or backwards, without “going against the grain”. You might want to tell them they’ve been asked to write an article on moles for a local newspaper and they need accurate information as reference material. The editor has heard something about mole fur that is unusual and wants you to see what it’s all about. See what they can find on the internet and be sure they document the site on which they find their information.
As they search for information, your students will find that many of the sites simply repeat the same basic information over and over. Have they just copied from each other? This is a good opportunity for them to be discriminatory about what they accept from the internet – it’s not necessarily accurate. So how can they know when it’s accurate? Well, that’s difficult but if they look to see who has produced the site, they will have a good idea which sites are more likely to be most accurate. Sites from science-oriented organizations are much more apt to have the best information. Be sure they take notes on what they find and see if they can document one or more sites that provides more than just the size, range, diet etc kinds of info that are so often repeated.
I’ve provided some sites to get students started and they can branch out from there. One especially important reason for using a reputable internet site is that it is more likely to include up-to-date information on a given subject – books in a library lag well behind the latest research.
Star-nosed Mole Info
//yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/animals/species/3924.html
//www.cs.tufts.edu/~cabotsch/bulloughs/vertebrates/mammals/star-nosed-mole.html
//www.believermag.com/mammal/star_nosed_mole.htm
//animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Condylura_cristata.html
Eastern Mole Info
//www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/scalaqua.htm
//www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/eastern_mole.htm
Key Concepts
Identification, Structures and Functions
Questions
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Posted by bev volkman on September 23, 2005 at 11:26 AM
Q: What did I see? All black (like velvet),about 6 inches long, appeared to have notail,moved rather fasted than I thought moles move.It desappeared under a stonewall and there was vis.hole. I have this sort of mammal about once or twice each summerfor the past few years. There are no yard tunnels in yard like moles make in woods or yards. It was located under a wild cherry tree now producing lots of fruit. I looked in Russ Mumfords book but I need pictures. Thanks for for your consideration to ID this mammal. I want to help this m? not hurt it. It must be uncommon in this part of W Laf,In
A: Well, you have me a bit puzzled. From the sound of your observation, my first thought was that it was a shrew. Most shrews from your area are between 3 and 3.8 inches in length (Least, Cinereus, or Southeastern Shrews) but the Northern Short-tailed Shrew is up to 5.5 inches long and it does have a short tail that you may not have seen. If it were a mole, you should have seen its large front paws. Also, if you have moles, it's likely you'd see their activity with tunneling in and around your yard. Take a look at this site and see if these photos of moles look similar to what you saw.
If it doesn't look like a mole, then I'd go with the Northern Short-tailed Shrew. These little guys are not often seen as they scurry about looking for food in the grass and under leaves. Shrews eat lots of insects so are helpful for pest control. Here's our unit on shrews that may help too www.enaturalist.org
Hope this helps you out. Thanks for asking.