6 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[No. 38 



places, since Parascalops is confined exclusively to the Transition and 

 Canadian Zones, while Scalopus inhabits chiefly the Austral Zones. 



Condylura, also comprising only a single species — the star-nosed 

 mole — is widely distributed, but apparently not very abundant. It 

 ranges from southern Labrador and southeastern Manitoba south to 

 northern Illinois, along the Appalachian Mountains to western North 

 Carohna, and on the Atlantic coast to Georgia. Apparently not lim- 

 ited in its distribution by zones, it occurs from the Boreal to the Lower 

 Austral. 



Scapanus fills the place on the Pacific coast occupied by Scalopus 

 on the Atlantic slope, being abundant and widely distributed from 

 British Columbia south to northern Lower Cahfornia. It ranges 

 through aU the zones from Boreal to Lower Sonoran. 



Neurotrichus has a limited distribution on the Pacific coast west 

 of the mountains from southwestern British Columbia south to 

 Monterey County, California, occurring in the Boreal and Transition 

 Zones. 



HABITS AND ECONOMIC STATUS OF MOLES. 



While all American moles have certain general habits in common, 

 as, for example, spending most of their lives underground and feeding 

 largely upon insects, their habits vary in details. The genera Sca- 

 lopus, Scapanus, and Parascalbps usually inhabit drier soils, burrow 

 deeper, and confine themselves more to subterranean runways than 

 do Condylura and Neurotrichus. AU moles prefer loamy or sandy 

 soil where burrowing is easier, and consequently they are scarce or 

 absent in heavy clay, stony, or gravelly soils. Insufficient food is 

 often the cause of their scarcity in excessively sandy soils. 



The common mole (Scalopus) is foimd in almost any area where 

 soil and food are suitable; it is most plentiful in meadows, gardens, 

 and similar habitats, but is by no means confined to them, and fre- 

 quently is found in open woodland, along the banks of streams, and 

 in other environments. It dwells in a series of subterranean tunnels 

 10 to 18 inches beneath the surface, and from these it forces to the 

 outside small piles of earth, scarcely large enough to be worthy the 

 name '^molehills." A second series of tunnels is made just beneath 

 the surface of the soil and appears as a series of small ridges, usually 

 more or less branching and at times ramifying in all directions. This 

 second series seems to be made chiefly during the animal's hunt for 

 food and may be occupied but once; generally, however, the main 

 surface tunnels are used for a considerable time. During dry weather 

 the mole works deeper and practically deserts the surface ridges. Its 

 change of habit is due in part to the increased hardness of the surface 

 soil, but undoubtedly is more the result of its pursuing worms and 



