Condylura cristatastar-nosed mole

Ge­o­graphic Range

Condy­lura cristata is na­tive to east­ern North Amer­ica. This species ranges fur­ther north than other New World talpids, reach­ing about 55°N lat­i­tude in Québec and New­found­land. The range ex­tends from the At­lantic Ocean west to Man­i­toba and North Dakota and south to Ohio and Vir­ginia. Condy­lura cristata is also found along the At­lantic coast south to Geor­gia as well as through­out the Ap­palachian moun­tains. (Kurta, 1995)

Habi­tat

Star-nosed moles are found in a va­ri­ety of habi­tats with moist soil. Un­like other North Amer­i­can moles, Condy­lura cristata prefers areas of poor drainage, in­clud­ing both conif­er­ous and de­cid­u­ous forests, clear­ings, wet mead­ows, marshes and peat­lands. Condy­lura cristata also in­hab­its the banks of streams, lakes and ponds, into which it ven­tures for food. Al­though it prefers wet areas, this species has been found in dry mead­ows as far as 400 m from water. Condy­lura cristata can be found along the coast and is known from el­e­va­tions up to 1676 m in the Great Smoky Moun­tains. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931; Kurta, 1995; Linzey and Brecht, 2004; Lyon, 1936)

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds
  • rivers and streams
  • Range elevation
    0 to 1676 m
    0.00 to 5498.69 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Condy­lura cristata is one of the most dis­tinc­tive mam­mal species. Its nose is hair­less and is ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy ten­ta­cles. The star is bi­lat­er­ally sym­met­ri­cal with 11 ap­pendages per side that vary in length from be­tween 1 and 4 mm. Condy­lura cristata ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs be­tween 35 and 75 g. Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylin­dri­cal body with heav­ily-built fore­limbs, broad feet and large claws. Its hair is short, dense and coarser than that of other moles. The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown un­der­neath. The tail is 65 to 85 mm long, con­stricted at the base, an­nu­lated, scaly and cov­ered with coarse hair. Dur­ing win­ter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its nor­mal di­am­e­ter. Fe­males have 8 mam­mae, and the testes of males can be 8.8% of the total body weight dur­ing the mat­ing sea­son. Sexes are oth­er­wise sim­i­lar in ap­pear­ance. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931; Kurta, 1995; Linzey and Brecht, 2004; Lyon, 1936; Van Vleck, 1965)

Star-nosed moles are the sole liv­ing mem­ber of the genus Condy­lura. There are two de­scribed sub­species: C. cristata cristata in the north and C. cristata parva in the south. The lat­ter sub­species is dis­tin­guished pri­mar­ily by its smaller size. Two fos­sil species, C. kowal­skii and C. iz­abel­lae, are known from the mid­dle Pliocene of Poland. (Pe­tersen and Yates, 1980; Skoczen, 1979)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • sexes alike
  • Range mass
    35 to 75 g
    1.23 to 2.64 oz
  • Range length
    175 to 205 mm
    6.89 to 8.07 in
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    0.615 W
    AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

Condy­lura cristata ap­pears to be monog­a­mous for one breed­ing sea­son. Males and fe­males are thought to pair up as early as au­tumn and re­main to­gether through the mat­ing sea­son in March and April. Lit­tle is known about how the star-nosed mole finds or at­tracts a mate. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931)

Condy­lura cristata mates in the spring from about mid-March through April. Ges­ta­tion lasts ap­prox­i­mately 45 days, and young are born in late April through mid-June. Fe­males pro­duce one lit­ter of off­spring per year of be­tween 2 and 7 young, though 5 is a typ­i­cal lit­ter size. If a fe­male's first re­pro­duc­tive ef­fort was un­suc­cess­ful, she may mate again, pro­duc­ing a lit­ter as late as July. At birth the young are hair­less, are ap­prox­i­mately 49 mm long and weigh about 1.5 g. The eyes and ears are closed and the ten­ta­cles of the star are folded back along the ros­trum. Eyes, ears and star be­come func­tional after about 2 weeks. Young are in­de­pen­dent at 30 days and reach ma­tu­rity at 10 months. (Baker, 1983; Eadie and Hamil­ton, 1956; Kurta, 1995)

  • Breeding interval
    Star nosed moles breed once yearly, though females may mate again if their first litter is unsuccessful.
  • Breeding season
    Star nosed moles breed from mid-March through April.
  • Range number of offspring
    2 to 7
  • Average number of offspring
    5
  • Average number of offspring
    4.4
    AnAge
  • Average gestation period
    45 days
  • Average weaning age
    30 days
  • Average time to independence
    30 days
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    10 months
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    Sex: female
    304 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    10 months
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    Sex: male
    304 days
    AnAge

Lit­tle is known about parental in­vest­ment in Condy­lura cristata, but there is likely no post-wean­ing care. (Baker, 1983)

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Not much is known about the lifes­pan of Condy­lura cristata in the wild. Since a fe­male's re­pro­duc­tive ef­fort is lim­ited to only 1 lit­ter per year, is is spec­u­lated that C. cristata may have a rel­a­tively long lifes­pan for a mam­mal of its size, per­haps 3 to 4 years. Some star-nosed moles have lived 2 years in cap­tiv­ity. (Baker, 1983; Gould, et al., 1993; Kurta, 1995)

  • Range lifespan
    Status: captivity
    2 (high) years
  • Typical lifespan
    Status: wild
    3 to 4 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: wild
    3 to 4 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    2.5 years
    AnAge

Be­hav­ior

Like many other moles, C. cristata is fos­so­r­ial, dig­ging a net­work of tun­nels through moist soil. The tun­nels are 3.3 to 7.6 cm wide, typ­i­cally wider than tall, and can ex­tend as much as 270 m along the edge of a suit­ably wet habi­tat. The mole digs shal­low sur­face tun­nels for for­ag­ing but, un­like the east­ern mole, it does not dig deeper bur­rows for pro­tec­tion in the win­ter. The sur­face tun­nels vary in depth from 3 to 60 cm, only oc­ca­sion­ally com­ing close enough to the sur­face to cause a raised ridge. The loose soil dug from the tun­nels is pushed out onto the sur­face, form­ing 'mole­hills' that can be 60 cm wide and 15 cm high. A spher­i­cal nest about 13 cm in di­am­e­ter is con­structed in the tun­nel sys­tem above the water line, often under a log or sim­i­lar pro­tec­tive ob­ject, and lined with dry leaves or grass. Un­like other North Amer­i­can moles, C. cristata is semi­aquatic, so many of its tun­nels open under the sur­face of a stream or lake. Its fos­so­r­ial fore­limbs also make good pad­dles and it swims un­der­wa­ter with al­ter­nate strokes of both front and hind feet, re­sult­ing in a char­ac­ter­is­tic zigzag mo­tion. Condy­lura cristata is also more ac­tive on the sur­face than other moles, using run­ways (often made by other small mam­mals) through meadow or marsh veg­e­ta­tion. Condy­lura cristata is ac­tive through­out the win­ter, bur­row­ing through snow and even swim­ming under the ice of frozen ponds. (Baker, 1983; Fisher, 1885; Hamil­ton, 1931; Hick­man, 1983; Kurta, 1995; Lyon, 1936; Mer­riam, 1884; Rust, 1966; Tenny, 1871; Wiegert, 1961)

The star is used in a num­ber of dif­fer­ent ac­tiv­i­ties. When C. cristata is bur­row­ing, the ten­ta­cles are held for­ward over the nos­trils to pre­vent soil from en­ter­ing the nose. This be­hav­ior also oc­curs while con­sum­ing prey. Dur­ing nor­mal for­ag­ing ac­tiv­ity, the ten­ta­cles are con­stantly being used to feel the mole's sur­round­ings, mov­ing so rapidly that they ap­pear as a blur of mo­tion, touch­ing as many as 12 ob­jects per sec­ond. The upper two ten­ta­cles are held more rigidly, straight out in front of the nose. When C. cristata en­coun­ters a po­ten­tial prey item with its star, it fo­cuses the low­est, short­est ten­ta­cles on the prey. Using these su­per­sen­si­tive or­gans, iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of prey can be made in under half a sec­ond. (Baker, 1983; Cata­nia, 2002; Hamil­ton, 1931)

  • Average territory size
    4000 m^2

Home Range

The home range of an in­di­vid­ual star-nosed mole is thought to be less than 4000 square me­ters. Condy­lura cristata is more so­cial than other moles in east­ern North Amer­ica and is be­lieved to form small, loose colonies of re­lated in­di­vid­u­als. It is not known if more than one mole will share a net­work of tun­nels, other than paired males and fe­males dur­ing the breed­ing sea­son. In fa­vor­able habi­tat, the den­sity of moles may be as great as 75 per hectare, though 25 or fewer per hectare is more com­mon. (Baker, 1983; Eadie and Hamil­ton, 1956; Hamil­ton, 1931)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Condy­lura cristata, equipped with its unique star, has per­haps the best sense of touch of any mam­mal. Each of the 22 ap­pendages that make up the star is com­pletely cov­ered with tiny papil­lae known as Eimer's or­gans. Each Eimer's organ con­tains 3 types of tac­tile re­cep­tors, 2 of which are found in the skin of other mam­mals. The third type is unique to the star-nosed mole and is thought to allow the mole to iden­tify ob­jects by their mi­cro­scopic tex­ture. The star pos­sesses over 25,000 Eimer's or­gans in a space less than 1 square cm, mak­ing it in­cred­i­bly sen­si­tive. A vast por­tion of the mole's brain is de­voted to pro­cess­ing this tac­tile in­for­ma­tion. The short­est pair of ten­ta­cles at the bot­tom of the star have the great­est den­sity of Eimer's or­gans and are ap­par­ently used to iden­tify prey items. Al­though it has not been demon­strated con­clu­sively, it is thought that the star may also be used to de­tect faint elec­tri­cal sig­nals from the star-nosed mole's aquatic prey. Lab­o­ra­tory tests have shown that C. cristata seems to be drawn to bat­ter­ies placed un­der­wa­ter as well as to the areas of strongest elec­tri­cal ac­tiv­ity on prey items. If true, C. cristata and the platy­pus (Or­nithorhynchus anat­i­nus) are the only mam­mals known to pos­sess this abil­ity.

Al­though ex­ter­nally vis­i­ble, the eyes of C. cristata may only be use­ful for sens­ing light and dark. Its hear­ing seems to be ex­cel­lent, as the ex­ter­nal ear open­ings are much larger than those of other North Amer­i­can species. Its sense of smell is prob­a­bly also fairly well-de­vel­oped. Young star-nosed moles make some high-pitched vo­cal­iza­tions and adults are known to make wheez­ing sounds. There is lit­tle in­for­ma­tion avail­able on how in­di­vid­u­als com­mu­ni­cate with each other. (Baker, 1983; Cata­nia, 2002; Gould, et al., 1993; Hamil­ton, 1931; Van Vleck, 1965)

Food Habits

Condy­lura cristata feeds pri­mar­ily on in­ver­te­brates. Like other fos­so­r­ial moles, C. cristata pa­trols its bur­rows search­ing for earth­worms that enter through the walls. When it has ac­cess to a body of water, how­ever, C. cristata prefers to hunt aquatic prey. About half of its diet con­sists of worms (An­nel­ida), and 80% of these are aquatic species such as leeches. Aquatic in­sects make up an­other 30% of its diet, in­clud­ing the lar­vae of cad­dis­flies (Tri­choptera), midges (Chi­rono­mi­dae), drag­on­flies and dam­selflies (Odonata), crane flies (Tip­ul­i­dae), horse flies (Ta­ban­idae), preda­cious div­ing bee­tles (Dytis­ci­dae) and stone­flies (Ple­coptera). Condy­lura cristata will also take oc­ca­sional ter­res­trial in­sects, aquatic crus­taceans, mol­lusks and small fish. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931; Kurta, 1995; Lyon, 1936; Rust, 1966)

  • Animal Foods
  • fish
  • insects
  • mollusks
  • terrestrial worms
  • aquatic or marine worms
  • aquatic crustaceans

Pre­da­tion

Condy­lura cristata is preyed upon by a num­ber of dif­fer­ent an­i­mals. Since this species spends time un­der­wa­ter as well as more time above ground than other moles, it is more vul­ner­a­ble to pre­da­tion. From the air, C. cristata is hunted by owls both large and small as well as by hawks dur­ing the day. On the ground, both do­mes­tic dogs and cats will cap­ture star-nosed moles. A num­ber of mustelids prey on C. cristata, in­clud­ing skunks, weasels, and the fisher. An­other mustelid, the mink, is semi­aquatic and may hunt Condy­lura cristata un­der­wa­ter. Other known aquatic preda­tors in­clude the bull­frog and large­mouth bass. (Baker, 1983; Chris­t­ian, 1977; Hamil­ton, 1931; Kurta, 1995; Linzey and Brecht, 2004)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Condy­lura cristata is an im­por­tant part of many wet­land ecosys­tems. It pro­vides food for a num­ber of car­ni­vores and is a vo­ra­cious preda­tor of aquatic in­ver­te­brates. By tun­nel­ing through moist ground, C. cristata pro­vides aer­a­tion to the roots of plants which might oth­er­wise be trapped in anoxic soil. (Baker, 1983; Kurta, 1995; Lyon, 1936)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Condy­lura cristata ben­e­fits hu­mans by prey­ing on the lar­vae of pest in­sects. They also aer­ate the soil of plants that may be ben­e­fi­cial to hu­mans. (Baker, 1983)

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Since C. cristata in­hab­its poorly-drained wet areas, it is not often found in areas that hu­mans fre­quent. How­ever, it may oc­ca­sion­ally ex­tend its tun­nels into lawns ad­ja­cent to wet­lands, dam­ag­ing the sod. Trap­ping is gen­er­ally an ef­fec­tive way to re­move star-nosed moles. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Condy­lura cristata is a rel­a­tively com­mon species, and since it is rather in­con­spic­u­ous and in­hab­its wet areas, hu­mans do not gen­er­ally im­pact this species di­rectly. Large num­bers are some­times caught in muskrat traps, but this does not seem to neg­a­tively ef­fect their pop­u­la­tion size. How­ever, since C. cristata is de­pen­dent on wet­lands for sur­vival, the on­go­ing de­struc­tion of wet­lands to make way for an ex­pand­ing human pop­u­la­tion may af­fect the sta­tus of this species in the fu­ture. (Baker, 1983; Hamil­ton, 1931)

Con­trib­u­tors

Matthew Wund (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Sean Zera (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Mu­seum of Zo­ol­ogy, Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

bog

a wetland area rich in accumulated plant material and with acidic soils surrounding a body of open water. Bogs have a flora dominated by sedges, heaths, and sphagnum.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

colonial

used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.

crepuscular

active at dawn and dusk

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

fossorial

Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

natatorial

specialized for swimming

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

soil aeration

digs and breaks up soil so air and water can get in

swamp

a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

taiga

Coniferous or boreal forest, located in a band across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. This terrestrial biome also occurs at high elevations. Long, cold winters and short, wet summers. Few species of trees are present; these are primarily conifers that grow in dense stands with little undergrowth. Some deciduous trees also may be present.

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

visual

uses sight to communicate

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

Ref­er­ences

Baker, R. 1983. Michi­gan Mam­mals. De­troit: Michi­gan State Uni­ver­sity Press.

Cata­nia, K. 2002. The Nose Takes a Star­ring Role. Sci­en­tific Amer­i­can, 2002/July: 54-59.

Chris­t­ian, D. 1977. An Oc­cur­rence of Fish Pre­da­tion on a Star-nosed Mole. Jack-Pine War­bler, 55/1: 43.

Eadie, W., W. Hamil­ton. 1956. Notes on re­pro­duc­tion in the star-nosed mole. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 37/2: 223-231.

Fisher, A. 1885. The Star-Nosed Mole Am­phibi­ous. The Amer­i­can Nat­u­ral­ist, 19/9: 895.

Gould, E., W. Mc­Shea, T. Grand. 1993. Func­tion of the star in the star-nosed mole, Condy­lura cristata . Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 74/1: 108-116.

Hamil­ton, W. 1931. Habits of the star-nosed mole, Condy­lura cristata . Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 12/4: 345-355.

Hick­man, G. 1983. In­flu­ence of the semi­aquatic habi­tat in de­ter­min­ing bur­row struc­ture of the star-nosed mole (Condy­lura cristata). Cana­dian Jour­nal of Zo­ol­ogy, 61: 1688-1692.

Kurta, A. 1995. Mam­mals of the Great Lakes Re­gion. Ann Arbor: The Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan Press.

Linzey, D., C. Brecht. 2004. "Condy­lura cristata (Lin­naeus); Star-nosed Mole" (On-line). Dis­cover Life. Ac­cessed Feb­ru­ary 09, 2004 at http://​www.​discoverlife.​org/​nh/​tx/​Vertebrata/​Mammalia/​Talpidae/​Condylura/​cristata/​.

Lyon, M. 1936. Mam­mals of In­di­ana. Amer­i­can Mid­land Nat­u­ral­ist, 17/1: 1-373.

Mer­riam, C. 1884. The star-nosed mole am­phibi­ous. Sci­ence, 4/92: 429.

Pe­tersen, K., T. Yates. 1980. Condy­lura cristata. Mam­malian Species, 129: 1-4.

Rust, C. 1966. Notes on the star-nosed mole (Condy­lura cristata). Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 47/3: 538.

Skoczen, S. 1979. Condy­lura Il­liger, 1811 (In­sec­tivora, Talp­i­dae) a new genus of fos­sil mole for Poland and Old World. Przeglad Zo­o­log­iczny, 23/2: 167-171.

Tenny, S. 1871. On the ap­pear­ance of the star-nosed mole on the snow at Niles, Michi­gan. The Amer­i­can Nat­u­ral­ist, 5/5: 314.

Van Vleck, D. 1965. The anatomy of the nasal rays of Condy­lura cristata . Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 46/2: 248-253.

Wiegert, R. 1961. Nest con­struc­tion and oxy­gen con­sump­tion of Condy­lura . Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 42/4: 528-529.