THE COMMON MOLE, MOLDWARP OR WANT 9 



Description : — The general form and appearance of the Common 

 Mole are typical of its genus. 



The eye is set low down and far forward. The small eyeball has 

 a diameter of about i m. ; the irides are dark brown, the pupil circular 

 (see Davy, Proc. Zool. Soc. (London), 1851, 129- 131). The eye is 

 relatively more prominent in the foetus (Geoffroy, also Bruton, 

 Manchester Mem. cit. supra, xlviii., 1904, No. 20). There is neither 

 orbit nor eyelash, and the small external aperture, about i m. in 

 diameter, can only doubtfully be said to possess an eyelid. The ear 

 is without any external conch. The fingers are short, with all the 

 phalanges about equal in size. 



The very soft, short, silky fur covers the whole body down to the 

 feet and hands, but on the scaly tail is reduced to a few long stiff hairs. 

 It shines like iridescent velvet, so that the colour, which at the first 

 impression appears to be pure black, varies according to the direction 

 from which it is viewed ; it is bright grey when seen in the direction in 

 which the hairs lie, and rich deep black from the opposite point of view ; 

 a slight yellowish tinge appears on the lower jaw and along the middle 

 of the belly. There is much individual variation, both as to general 

 colour and amongst the individual hairs, which may have the tips and 

 bases of different shades. 



Little is known as regards seasonal variation or moult ; the latter 

 takes place, perhaps as in the shrews, twice a year, namely, in spring 

 and autumn. Service ( Trans. Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Micro- 

 scopical Society, vi., i., 64, 1907-8) states that the winter coat is changed 

 immediately after the breeding season, the male preceding the female 

 by several weeks, but both sexes have usually assumed their new coat 

 by the first week of June. Adams's observation of a mole shedding 

 its coat in May {in lit.) is corroboratory. 



The young at birth are pink and hairless, but as they increase in 

 size the skin grows darker, assuming a dark slate-blue colour before the 

 fur begins to appear (see also p. 12). 



The number of mammse is probably variable. The most usual 

 number is believed to be six, but Adams {op. cit., Fig. 28) has figured a 

 specimen having eight, placed in pairs along the entire pectoral and 

 inguinal surface. They are not readily seen even when the female has 

 young. 



Genital organs: — Without dissection it is difficult to distinguish 

 the sex of immature animals. Until the first breeding season, the 

 vagina is imperforate and the clitoris closely resembles a penis. 



At the end of January the uterus and vagina of the female, and 

 the testes, prostate, and corpus spongiosum of the male undergo 

 considerable enlargement, attaining a maximum at about the end of 

 March or beginning of April, when pairing takes place. After this date 



VOL. II. B 



