Moles are members of the mammal family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Moles live underground and burrow holes. Some species are aquatic or semi-aquatic. Moles have cylindrical bodies covered in fur with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrate animals living underground. Moles can be found in North America, Europe and Asia. Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria For the folk-rock band see The Mammals. ... The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... Families Nesophontidae Solenodontidae Soricidae Talpidae The order Soricomorpha is a biological clade within the class of mammals. ... Invertebrate is an English word that describes any animal without a spinal column. ... North American redirects here. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...

Male moles are called boars; females are called sows. A group of moles is called a labor. Since at least the era of Early Modern English the mole was also known in the UK as a "moldywarp" or "moldywarpes"^[2] (plural). In linguistics, a collective noun is a word used to define a group of objects, where objects can be people, animals, inanimate things, concepts, or other things. ... Shakespeares writings are universally associated with Early Modern English Early Modern English refers to the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 1400s) to 1650. ...

Diet

A mole's diet primarily consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil. The mole may also occasionally catch small mice at the entrance to its burrow. Because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground "larders" for just this purpose; researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them. Before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worm's gut.^[3] For the LPG album, see The Earthworm (album). ...

The Star-nosed Mole can detect, catch and eat food faster than the human eye can follow (under 300 milliseconds).^[4] Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. ...

Evolution

Darwin cites moles as an example of mammals that have organs that have become vestigial and are being phased out by natural selection: For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...

The eyes of moles and of some burrowing rodents are rudimentary in size, and in some cases are quite covered by skin and fur. This state of the eyes is probably due to gradual reduction from disuse, but aided perhaps by natural selection. In South America, a burrowing rodent, the tuco-tuco, or Ctenomys, is even more subterranean in its habits than the mole; and I was assured by a Spaniard, who had often caught them, that they were frequently blind. One which I kept alive was certainly in this condition, the cause, as appeared on dissection, having been inflammation of the nictitating membrane. As frequent inflammation of the eyes must be injurious to any animal, and as eyes are certainly not necessary to animals having subterranean habits, a reduction in their size, with the adhesion of the eyelids and growth of fur over them, might in such case be an advantage; and if so, natural selection would aid the effects of disuse. (Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, Laws of Variation) The tuco-tucos are members of a group of rodents that belong to the family Ctenomyidae. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ...

Classification

Mole

Mole hill

Another picture of a mole

Mole..

The family is divided into 3 subfamilies, 7 tribes, and 17 genera: Image File history File links Mole12. ... Image File history File links Mole12. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Krticin_rad. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Krticin_rad. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 579 pixelsFull resolution (1260 × 912 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 579 pixelsFull resolution (1260 × 912 pixel, file size: 1. ...

• Subfamily Scalopinae
  • Tribe Condylurini
    • Genus Condylura
  • Tribe Scalopini
    • Genus Parascalops
    • Genus Scalopus
    • Genus Scapanulus
    • Genus Scapanus
• Subfamily Talpinae
  • Tribe Desmanini
    • Genus Desmana
    • Genus Galemys
  • Tribe Neurotrichini
    • Genus Neurotrichus
  • Tribe Scaptonychini
    • Genus Scaptonyx
  • Tribe Talpini
    • Genus Euroscaptor
    • Genus Mogera
    • Genus Parascaptor
    • Genus Scaptochirus
    • Genus Talpa
  • Tribe Urotrichini
    • Genus Dymecodon
    • Genus Urotrichus
• Subfamily Uropsilinae
  • Genus Uropsilus

Binomial name Condylura cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) The Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. ... Binomial name Condylura cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) The Star-nosed Mole, Condylura cristata, is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. ... Binomial name Parascalops breweri (Bachman, 1842) The Hairy-tailed Mole or Brewers Mole, Parascalops breweri, is a medium-sized North American mole. ... Binomial name Scalopus aquaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eastern Mole or Common Mole, Scalopus aquaticus, is a medium-sized North American mole. ... Binomial name Thomas, 1912 The Gansu Mole (Scapanulus oweni) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Scapanus is a genus of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Genera See species list The Talpinae are one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Desmans or Desmaninae and the Shrew moles or Uropsilinae. ... Genera & Species Genus Desmana D. moschata Genus Galemys G. pyrenaicus The Desmans or tribe Desmanini are one of several tribes of the mole family Talpidae. ... Binomial name Desmana moschata (Linnaeus, 1758) The Russian Desman (Desmana moschata) (Russian: ) is a small half-aquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. ... Binomial name Galemys pyrenaicus (Geoffroy, 1811) The Pyrenean Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is a small half-aquatic mammal that lives in the Pyrenees to the Iberian peninsula. ... Binomial name Neurotrichus gibbsii (Baird, 1858) The Shrew-mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii) is the smallest North American mole. ... Binomial name Neurotrichus gibbsii (Baird, 1857) The American Shrew Mole, Neurotrichus gibbsii, is the smallest North American mole. ... Binomial name Milne-Edwards, 1872 The Long-tailed Mole (Scaptonyx fusicaudus) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Euroscaptor is a genus of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Mogera is a genus of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Binomial name (Blyth, 1850) The White-tailed Mole (Parascaptor leucura) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Binomial name Milne-Edwards, 1867 The Short-faced Mole (Scaptochirus moschatus) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Species Talpa altaica Talpa caeca Talpa caucasica Talpa europaea Talpa davidiana Talpa levantis Talpa occidentalis Talpa romana Talpa stankovici Talpa is a genus in the mole family Talpidae. ... Binomial name (True, 1886) The Trues Shrew Mole (Dymecodon pilirostris) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Binomial name Temminck, 1841 The Japanese Shrew Mole (Urotrichus talpoides) is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. ... Genera Uropsilus The Shrew moles or Uropsilinae are one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Talpinae and the Desmans or Desmaninae. ... Species See text. ...

Pest status

Moles are considered to be an agricultural pest in some countries, while in others, such as Germany, they are a protected species but may be killed if a permit is received. Problems cited as caused by moles include contamination of silage with soil particles making it unpalatable to animals, the covering of pasture with fresh soil reducing its size and yield, damage to agricultural machinery by the exposure of stones, damage to young plants through disturbance of the soil, weed invasion of pasture through exposure of fresh tilled soil, and damage to drainage systems and watercourses. Other species such as weasels and voles may use mole tunnels to gain access to enclosed areas or plant roots. Silage (hay) somewhere in Allschwil or Schönenbuch, near Basel, Switzerland. ... For other uses, see Weasel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Vole (disambiguation). ...

Moles burrow in lawns, raising molehills, and killing the lawn, for which they are sometimes considered pests. They can undermine plant roots, indirectly causing damage or death. Contrary to popular belief, moles don't eat plant roots. A molehill is a mound of soil raised by a burrowing mole. ... Larval form of some beetle is damaging specimen of Sceliphron destillatorius in entomogical collection. ...

They are controlled with traps, smoke bombs, and poisons such as calcium carbide and strychnine. Calcium carbide is the chemical compound with the formula CaC2. ... Strychnine (pronounced (British, U.S.), or (U.S.)) is a very toxic (LD50 = 10 mg approx. ...

Other common remedies for moles include cat litter and blood meal, to repel the mole, or flooding or smoking its burrow. There are also devices sold to trap the mole in its burrow, when one sees the "mole hill" moving and therefore knows where the animal is, and then stabbing it. Other, "humane" traps are used to capture the mole so that it may be transported elsewhere.

Similarly named animals

Other similar animals are found in family Chrysochloridae (the golden moles) and family Notoryctidae (the marsupial moles) which are not related to true moles. Genera  Eremitalpa  Chrysospalax  Chrysochloris  Cryptochloris  Carpitalpa  Chlorotalpa  Calcochloris  Amblysomus  Neamblysomus Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. ... Genera  Eremitalpa  Chrysospalax  Chrysochloris  Cryptochloris  Carpitalpa  Chlorotalpa  Calcochloris  Amblysomus  Neamblysomus Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. ... Binomial names Notoryctes typhlops Notoryctes caurinus The marsupial moles are rare and poorly understood burrowing mammals of the deserts of western Australia. ... Species The marsupial moles are rare and poorly understood burrowing mammals of the deserts of western Australia. ...

There are also similar-looking but herbivorous rodents called mole-rats that lead a similar life and are commonly called "moles", although, unlike mole-rats, no species of true mole is known to be eusocial. Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing. ... Binomial name Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell, 1842 The Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber), or Sand Puppy, is a very unusual burrowing rodent native to arid parts of East Africa. ... Eusociality is the phenomenon of reproductive specialisation found in some species of animal, whereby a specialised caste carries out reproduction in a colony of non-reproductive animals. ...

References

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External links

• UK Government DEFRA paper on control the European Mole