168 WILD BEASTS OF THE WOULD 



Our Mole is not found in Ireland, but extends all across the Old World from 

 England to Japan, and other species of the family are (Talpidai) likewise found in 

 the northern parts of the world. 



THE STAR-NOSED MOLE 



(jOondylura cristata) 



This is the most remarkable of the American Moles ; it has a long, stout hairy tail, 

 very unlike that of our species, and its snout is tipped by a curious star-shaped 

 appendage, consisting of a ring of fleshy tentacles ; these are almost imperceptible 

 in the newly-born animal. The Star-nosed Mole is the most aquatic of the true 

 Moles, burrowing habitually in wet soil by the water-side, and often below the 

 water-level, while it takes to the water freely, and dives as well as swims. The 

 common Mole of North America (Scalops aquaticus), although it has webbed hind- 

 feet, does not care about water, and rather affects dry soils. 



THE DESMAN 



{Myogale moschata) 



This creature, although referred to the same family as the Mole, and bearing some 

 resemblance to it in the smallness of the eyes and ears and shortness of the limbs, 

 is adapted to an aquatic life rather than to one beneath the soil. It is large for an 

 insectivore, the body being about ten inches long, while the tail is about six inches 

 more, stout, scaly, and flattened at the side. The fore-paws are of ordinary form, 

 not adapted for digging as in Moles, and the hind-paws are specially suited for 

 swimming, being long and webbed. 



The nose of the animal projects far beyond the mouth, like a short trunk, and 

 is very flexible. The coat resembles that of the Otter, having a soft under-fur 

 and long outer hairs, and, as it is appreciated as a fur, the creature is a good deal 

 persecuted in consequence. 



The Desman lives in South-Eastern Russia, making burrows in the banks of 

 lakes and streams, and hunting in the water for the insects and other aquatic 

 creatures on which it lives. It has only one near relative, the Pyrenean Desman 

 (M. fiyrenaica), a much smaller animal, with a proportionately longer nose, and the 

 tail rounded instead of flattened. 



