Mole (animal)

Moles live under the ground. They have very soft fur. This fur helps them move backward in dirt.

Moles use big paws to dig. They have an extra thumb on each paw. This helps them work in the soil.

Moles like to eat earthworms. They find worms in their tunnels. They can even save worms for later.

Moles help the garden. They move the dirt around. This helps air get into the soil.

They are small and busy animals.

Do you like to look for worms?

Moles are small animals that live underground. They have round bodies and very soft fur. This fur is thick and has no set direction. This helps them move backward through dirt easily.

Moles use strong front paws to dig. Each paw has an extra thumb. This is called a prepollex. It is a special bone in the wrist. It helps them work in the soil.

Most moles eat earthworms. They use their saliva to make worms stay still. This is a toxin that can paralyze them. Moles then save the worms in underground rooms. These rooms are called larders. Some larders hold over a thousand worms!

Moles can live in places with little air. Their blood has a special form of hemoglobin. This helps them use oxygen very well. This is important for living in deep burrows.

Some animals look like moles but are not. The golden mole and marsupial mole are different. They live in Africa and Australia. They are not part of the true mole family.

Moles are small mammals that live mostly underground. They have cylindrical bodies and very soft, velvety fur. This fur is special because it has no set direction. This allows moles to move backward through tunnels easily. Their eyes and ears are very small and hard to see. They use short, powerful front limbs to dig through the dirt.

These animals are helpful to the earth and gardens. They help air reach the soil and eat pests like slugs. They also serve as food for other wild animals.

Digging is a very important part of a mole's life. Each front paw has an extra thumb called a prepollex. This is a special bone that grows from the wrist. It helps the mole push through heavy soil. Moles also have a very clever way of eating. They use saliva with a toxin to paralyze earthworms. This lets them store the worms for later. They build underground rooms called larders to hold their food. Some of these larders hold more than one thousand worms!

Scientists have studied many different types of moles. True moles belong to the family Talpidae. They live in North America, Asia, and most of Europe.

Some moles are even more specialized. The star-nosed mole can catch food faster than a human eye can follow. There are also many different groups like the Western North American moles. These include the genus Scapanus. Other groups include the genus Talpa in Europe and western Asia.

Different species have different ways of growing and living. The Eastern mole in North America has a gestation period of about 42 days. This is the time the mother carries her young. They usually give birth to three to five babies in the spring. Townsend's moles have a shorter period of about one month. They usually have two to four young. Most moles are solitary and like to live alone. Males may even fight if they meet each other.

Some animals look like moles but are not true moles. The golden mole in Africa and the marsupial mole in Australia look similar. They have similar lifestyles, but they are not related to true moles. This is an example of how different animals can evolve to solve the same problems. In the past, people even used mole fur for fashion. Queen Alexandra once ordered a garment made of mole fur. Today, the word "moleskin" is used for a tough type of cotton fabric.

Moles are small, subterranean mammals that spend most of their lives underground. The term most commonly refers to species within the family Talpidae. These animals possess cylindrical bodies and very small, inconspicuous eyes and ears. They have reduced hindlimbs and short, powerful forelimbs. Their large paws are specifically adapted for digging through soil. While some gardeners view them as pests, moles provide essential services to ecosystems. They assist with soil aeration and eat small creatures that damage plant roots.

To survive in low-oxygen environments like burrows, moles have developed unique biological mechanisms. They can tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide than most other mammals. This is because their blood cells contain a special form of hemoglobin. This hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen, meaning it grabs oxygen more easily. Moles also use oxygen more effectively by reusing exhaled air. Their physical structure is also highly specialized for life in tunnels. Each forepaw is polydactyl, meaning it has extra digits. They possess an extra thumb known as a prepollex. This bone develops from a transformed sesamoid bone in the wrist during embryogenesis. This trait is species-specific and is not found in shrews, their closest relatives.

Dietary habits are central to a mole's survival in the dark. Moles are omnivores, but they primarily eat earthworms and other small invertebrates. They use their tunnels as "worm traps" to catch prey. When a mole senses a worm in the tunnel, it runs quickly to catch it. A fascinating part of their biology is their toxic saliva. This saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms. This allows moles to store living prey in underground "larders" for later meals. Some researchers have discovered larders containing over one thousand earthworms. The star-nosed mole is particularly efficient, catching food faster than the human eye can follow.

Classification of these animals has changed as scientific understanding has grown. Moles were traditionally placed in the order Insectivora. However, scientists abandoned that order because it was not monophyletic. Moles are now classified in the order Eulipotyphla, which includes shrews and hedgehogs. The family Talpidae is divided into several subfamilies. The subfamily Scalopinae includes New World moles. The subfamily Talpinae includes Old World moles and desmans. There are many specific genera within these groups, such as the genus Talpa in Europe and western Asia.

Other groups include the genus Scapanus, which contains five species of Western North American moles.

Reproduction and social structures vary by species. Breeding seasons generally occur between February and May. Moles are mostly solitary creatures that only come together to mate. Males may fight fiercely if they meet. The gestation period, or the time a mother carries young, depends on the species. For the Eastern mole, this period is approximately 42 days. They typically give birth to three to five young in the spring. Townsend's moles have a gestation period of about one month and produce two to four young.

Some animals are called moles even though they are not part of the Talpidae family. This is due to convergent evolution, where unrelated animals develop similar traits. The African golden moles and Australian marsupial moles are primary examples. Golden moles are more closely related to elephants and manatees than to true moles. Marsupial moles are even more distant, as they are marsupials like kangaroos. They are distinguished from true moles by shovel-like patches on their noses. These patches help them swim through sandy soils.

Humans have had many interactions with moles throughout history. Their pelts are famous for a velvety texture. Unlike surface animals, mole fur has no particular direction to its nap. This allows the mole to move backward easily without the fur being "brushed the wrong way." In the past, mole fur was a fashion item. Queen Alexandra once ordered a mole-fur garment to create a demand for the material. Today, the term "moleskin" is used for a tough cotton fabric. While they can damage crops or drainage systems, they remain a vital part of the natural world.