Biological Paper's. 119 



INVESTIGATION OF THE MOLE. 



By Theo. H. Scheffer, Kansas State Agricultural College. 

 DESCRIPTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 



''f^HE mole which forms the subject of this discussion is usually 

 ^ referred to as the "common garden mole." It belongs to a 

 genus {Scalops) which is distributed very generally over the east- 

 ern part of the United States, and the Mississippi valley as far west 

 as the plains. There is not enough variation in type over this 

 range to establish more than a single species {aquaticus), but four 

 or five subspecies are recognized. The Kansas mole has usually been 

 assigned to the subspecies machrinus, but from the large number 

 of specimens I have examined I should feel more inclined to place 

 it in the subspecies intermedius of Elliott. We may, therefore, 

 designate our mole as Scalops aquaticus intermedius. 



The variation in size among individuals taken in the same local- 

 ity is not especially marked, but it is more noticeable when com- 

 paring specimens taken in arid and in moist regions, respectively, 

 The following data apply to 100 moles taken at Manhattan: 



Males (45 specimens) : 



Average total length, 176 mm. (about 7 inches). 



Average length of tail, 30 mm. (about li\ inches). 



Average weight, 4 ounces. 

 Females (55 specimens) : 



Average total length, 168 mm. (about 6f inches). 



Average length of tail, 30 mm. (about l/g inches). 



Average weight, 3 ounces. 



In contrast to the slight variation in size among moles taken in 

 the same locality is the marked variation in color. The dominant 

 shade is a mingling of lead color and brown, but some specimens 

 are darker than this and, on the other hand, some are a beautiful 

 silver gray, or, perhaps, are tinged with purplish. I have taken at 

 least two that were suffused all over with rich golden brown. On 

 the average, about one-half of the moles taken here have certain 

 regions of the body — particularly the nose, chin and breast — 

 washed with a tinge of orange, or have distinct patches of this color 

 on the head or belly. Some of these patches are yellowish or 

 golden brown instead of orange, and occasionally one is nearly 

 white. A common marking is a band on the nose. The patches 

 vary in size from a mere streak to a blotch covering almost the 



