304 



MAM-MALS OF AMERICA 



three-quarters inches in length. In its winter 

 pelage its upper parts are blackish-brown to 

 almost black, usually with a purplish sheen ; the 

 under parts are slightly paler. In summer, the 

 purplish sheen is more pronounced. Its habits do 

 not differ widely from those of the Common 

 Mole, except in regard to breeding, the young 

 being usually born in May or June. The number 



of young ones is two or three, seldom four, and 

 not infrequently only one. Like all the species 

 and subspecies of this genus, of which there are 

 eleven, Townsend's Mole is found in the Pacific 

 coast region, its range extending over the ex- 

 treme northwest of California, Oregon, and 

 that part of \\'ashington west of the Cascade 

 Mountains. 



STAR-NOSED MOLE 

 Condylura cristata ([.inimcus) 



General Description, — Similar to Eastern Mole, but 

 nostriLs with a curious, fleshy, star-shaped pad formed 

 by twenty-two cutaneous processes. Feet scaly : tail 

 three-quarters as long as body, covered with scattered 

 hairs, constricted at base; fore feet broad. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, |~ ; Canines, ~ ; Pre- 

 molars, 1^^ ; Molars, f"^ = 44. 



4 4 .J J 



Pelage. — Adults : Sexes identical ; seasonal varia- 

 tion slight. Above dusky brown or blackish ; below 

 paler and grayer on sides of throat and chin; tail more 

 or less covered with blackish hairs ; feet dusky. In 

 winter the tail is enlarged. Young; .Similar to adults. 



Measurements. — Total length about 7 inches ; tail 

 vertebrae. 2.7 inches ; hind foot with claw, i inch. 



Range. — Eastern North .'\merica north to 51°. from 

 Manitoba to the .'\tlantic, and south to Illinois, Virginia, 

 and in the Allegheny Mountains to the boundary of 

 South Carolina. 



Food. — Insects and worms. 



Remarks. — Although closely related to the Eastern 

 Mole, the Star-nosed Mole is characterized by significant 

 features such as its star nose and different dentition, 

 and is therefore placed in a genus by itself. There 

 is only the one species known of this peculiarly marked 

 animal. 



TWO VIEWS OF THE MOLE 

 The interior view, showing the peculiar curving form of the skeleton, was revealed by the Roentgen rays 



This Mole, which is the only representative of 

 the genus Condyhtra, is notable for its remark- 

 able nose, which terminates in a naked disk sur- 

 rounded on its margin by a fringe of twcntv-two 

 feelers symmetrically arranged, eleven on each 

 side of a median line. It is found in south- 

 eastern Canada from southern Labrador to 

 Manitoba, and as far south as South Carolina. 



Though occasionally occupying the same tun- 

 nels as the Common Mole, this species prefers to 

 make its home in wet meadows and marshes. The 

 ridges of earth made by it arc more irregular 

 than those of the Common Mole, tnore crooked, 

 and .smaller. Unlike its cousins it frequently 

 leaves its tunnels in winter, and burrows in the 

 snow, even running on too of it. 



Little is known about the breeding and nesting 

 habits of this Mole. There is in the Biological 

 Survey collection a family of five young, about 

 one-third grown, which, according to Jackson, 

 was found in a nest under a log on the flats of 

 the Potomac river a short distance north of 

 Georgetown. Hishop, writing of some young 

 that were probably ten days old, said, " the fur 

 was just beginning to start, which gave the skin 

 a dark-brown color." 



Mr. Francis H. .Mien contributes to Science 

 some interesting information concerning a Star- 

 nosed Mole that he caught entering a half-rotten 

 willow sttmip. at the edge of a little pond in the 

 woods at West Roxburv. Mass.. and placed in 

 a cage at his home. He writes: " I dug some 



