THE STAR-NOSED MOLE. 



613 



kernels of sprouting corn. When they do burrow in such places it 

 is in search of cutworms and other insects rather than the corn. 

 Here also the pine mouse is chiefly to blame, although it must be 

 conceded that moles do sometimes uproot the corn by burrowing 

 beneath it. 



There is no doubt, however, that moles do damage at times. A 

 beautiful lawn may sometimes be completely ruined by a family 

 which have taken up their residence ])eneath it and thrust their 

 ugly "mole hills" up through the grass. It is said that they some- 

 times do damage to strawberry beds by burrowing under the straw 

 with which the latter are covered in winter, and uprooting the 

 plants. Here again I am inclined to think the pine mouse is most 

 often to blame, as it is fond of the roots of a number of plants and 

 usually stays near the surface, while moles are apt to burrow deeper 

 in winter. Both the mice and moles do harm by causing ditches to 

 start where they have tunneled up or down clayey hillsides. 



Genus Condylura Illiger. 



Condylura Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm. et Avium, p. 125, 1811. 



Dental formula.— I, ^J; Pm, M, "Je^ = 44. 



Generic characters. — Nostrils (fig. 21, a) at the tip of the snout, 

 each one surrounded by a fringe of fleshy projections. The tail 

 (fig. 22a) is nearly as long as the body without the head; it is 

 small at the base, but much thickened about half an inch from the 

 body, tapering from that point to the slender tip; it is sparsely 

 haired; fore feet (fig. 20a) broad, but considerably smaller than 

 in Scalops. 



This genus is confined to eastern North America and contains 

 but one known species. It is readily distinguished by the fringe 

 about the nostrils which is unique among mammals. 



CONDYLURA CRISTATA (Linnaeus). 

 STAR-NOSED MOLE. 



Sorex cristatiis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. 10, p. 53, 1758. 

 Condylura cristata Desmarest, Journal de physique. Vol. 89, p. 

 230, 1819. 



True, Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, Vol. 19, p. 78, 1896. 

 Evermann and Butler, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. for 1893, p. 133, 

 1894. 



Diagnostic char-acters. — Distinguished by the fleshy star about 

 the nose. 



