164 INSECTIVORA. 



The Mole is a burrowing animal, and passes its life underground. 

 Digging with head and paws, it makes a system of communicating pas- 

 sages, which can be traced on the surface of the ground by a slight 

 elevation of soil. These passages radiate from a central dome, which is 

 marked by the mole-hill ; to reach it, the animal enters a circular gallery 

 on the same level as the numerous radiating passages ; then it passes into 

 one of five conduits, which ascend obliquely toward another circular gal- 

 lery of a smaller circumference than the first, and placed a little higher ; 

 lastly, it enters its dwelling by a passage which opens into the latter 

 gallery. From the floor of this chamber a tunnel runs and connects 

 with some of the radiating galleries. 



The body of the Mole is a cylinder terminating in a cone; there is no 

 neck, and the nose is a boring instrument. The eyes are nearly imper- 

 ceptible. The sense of hearing is very acute ; there is no external ear, 

 but the internal ear is highly developed. Its powers of smell, too, 

 are excellent. The tail is very short, the coat black, thick, and silky. 

 Their food is chiefly insects and earth-worms, and the dead bodies of 

 small mammals or birds. The Mole is essentially carnivorous ; it does 

 not experience a mere sense of hunger like other animals, but a craving 

 of the most powerful description — a kind of frenzy. 



The Common Mole of Europe, Talpa Europcsa, is, as its name implies, 

 found everywhere in that continent, and is the type of the genus. A 

 species called the Blind Mole, Talpa cceca, occurs in Italy, and in it 

 the eye is quite invisible, and the snout is somewhat longer than in the 

 common species. 



II.— GENUS SCAPTOCHEIRUS. 



This genus is represented by one species, a recent discovery in North- 

 ern China, and calls for no remark. 



III.— GENUS CONDYLURA. 



This genus consists of only oii'.- species, which inhabits the Eastern 

 States from Nova Scotia to Pennsylvania. Its most striking character- 

 istic is a peculiar membranous appendage to the snout, which has a star- 

 shaped termination. 



