LIII. 



Star-nosed Mole. 



Condylura cristata (Linnaeus). 

 {Condylura, from Gr. kondylos, a knob; oura, tail; L. cristata, crested.) 



Sorex cristatus LiNN., 1758, Syst. Nat., X Ed., I, p. 53. 

 Condylura cristata Desmarest, 1819, Journ. de Phys., 

 LXXXIX, p. 2J0. 



Type Locality. — Pennsylvania. 



French Canadian, le Condylure a longue queue; la 

 Taupe du Canada; le Condylure a museau etoile. 



The Family Talpidce or Moles are like the Shrews in their 

 soft, velvety fur, their apparent lack of eyes, ears, and neck, 

 their scanty-haired, scaly tails, and also in the general style 

 of their teeth; but they differ in being much larger, and in 

 having the front feet enormously developed for digging. 



The genus Condylura, founded by Illiger (181 1), for the 

 present, its only known species, has, in addition to the Family 

 characters, a remarkable fringe of 22 fleshy points or feelers 

 around the nose; its tail is longer than in most Moles, being 

 over half as long as the head and body. The teeth are: 



T 3-3 i-i 4-4 1 3~'i 



Inc. ^^-^: can. — ; prem. — ; mol. — = 44 



3-3 I -I 4-4 ^-i 



SIZE Total length, snout to tail-bone tip, about 7 inches (178 



mm.); tail, 3 inches (76 mm.); hind-foot, iiV inches (27 mm.). 



COLOUR Above, dull brownish-black, becoming paler and browner 



on chin, throat, and lower parts. 



1136 



