3 6 4 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



only two specimens. The first was picked up under a haypole on a salt- 

 marsh beside the Hudson and identified by Dr C. Hart Merriam. On 

 June 28, 1878, Mr William Church Osborn brought me a perfect albino 

 specimen of this mole which a gardener- had caught near Garrison's in 

 Putnam co." ('98a, p. 343-44). " One specimen taken [in the Scho- 

 harie valley]" ('98b, p. 357). 



I have found the hairy-tailed mole tolerably common at Peterboro, 

 Madison co. and Elizabethtown, Essex co. 



Mr Savage has not found the animal at Buffalo, but I have seen a 

 specimen belonging to Ward's natural science establishment taken near 

 Rochester. 



Condylura cristata (Linnaeus) Star-nosed mole 



1758 [.S^rac] cristatus Linnaeus, Syst. nat. ed. 10. 1 : 53. 

 1819 Condylura cristata Desmarest, Jour, de Physique. 89 1230. 

 1842 Condylura cristata De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia. 

 P- 14. 



1884 Condylura cristata Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. Trans. 2:48. 

 1896 Condylura cristata Fisher, The Observer. May 1896. 7 : 195. 

 1898 Condylura cristata Mearns, Am. mus. nat. hist. Bui. 10:344. 



Type locality. Pennsylvania. 



Faunal position. The star-nosed mole is a member of the boreal 

 fauna, but it ranges far south of the limits of the boreal zone in cool, 

 damp situations. 



Habitat: Swamps and soft damp ground. The tunnels inhabited by 

 the star-nosed mole are often found partly filled with water. In its 

 semi-aquatic habits this species differs strikingly from the two other 

 moles found in New York, 



Distribution in New York. This species is the most widely distrib- 

 uted of the moles that occur in the state It is probably an inhabitant 

 of every county. The exact details of its range however remain to be 

 determined. 



Principal records. De Kay : " The star-nose is abundant throughout 

 New York." ('42. p. 14). Merriam: "The star-nosed mole is a com- 

 mon animal along the outskirts of the Adirondacks, where it seems to 

 manifest a predilection for moist situations '' . '. . ('84d, p. 48). Fisher: 

 "The star-nosed mole is far less common than the preceding species 

 [Scalops aquaticus\ and usually inhabits wet meadows near streams though 

 occasionally taken in dry soil " ('96, p. 195). Mearns: "This singular- 

 looking animal is not uncommon [in the Hudson highlands] " 

 ('98a, p. 344). 



