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Scalopus aquaticus

From WhiskerWiki

Eastern Mole
(Scalopus aquaticus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Eulipotyphla
Suborder:Erinaceota
Family:Talpidae
Subfamily:Scalopinae
Tribe:Scalopini
Genus:Scalopus
Binomial details
Scalopus aquaticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Description

From Yates & Schmidly (1978): "Since the genus is monotypic, the following diagnosis applies to both genus and species: body robust and depressed; tail short, round, and scantily haired, although appearing essentially naked; tail less than a fourth of total length; nose elongated into distinct snout; apical portion naked to line of anterior edge of nasals; nostrils superior, crescentic, with concavities turned in laterally; eyes small, with no external opening, of little use except possibly to detect light (Slonaker, 1902). External ears are lacking; ear openings are tiny holes buried in fur. Feet are large, fleshy, scantily haired above and naked below; forefeet modified for digging, palms wider than long; toes on both front and hind feet webbed. Fur is dense, soft, silky, velvetlike; color variable, from nearly black to silver. There are six mammae."

From Best & Hunt (2020): "Eastern moles have large paddle-like front feet, an elongated snout, soft and velvety fur, a short tail, webbed toes on all feet, and no obvious eyes or ears. Color is silverish to almost black. They have neither star-shaped, tentacle-like nasal rays surrounding the nostrils nor a tail covered with coarse hairs."

Scalopus aquaticus observed in Texas by Brigid Berger.
Scalopus aquaticus observed in Texas by Brigid Berger.
Scalopus aquaticus (ventral view) observed in Texas by Brigid Berger.

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
Alabama Best & Dusi (2014) 132 (115–158) (n=22) 20 (11–28) (n=22) 18 (14–26) (n=22) 49.8 (26.2–59.5) (n=15)
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland Webster et al. (1985) 144–187 18–33
Colorado Armstrong et al. (2010) 133–190 19–36 17–24 65–100
Great Lakes Region Kurta (2017) 150–200 20–38 22–27 65–140
Minnesota Hazard (1982) 155–185 21–30 19–25 75–120
northern part of range Naughton (2012)
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 165 29 22 60–90
Virginia Linzey (1998) 135–200 22–40 up to 140


Skull

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Similar species

Scalopus aquaticus may co-occur with the Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) and the Hairy-tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri). It is not easily confused with the Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata), which has a distinct and unique fringe of pink nasal rays (sometimes referred to as tentacles) encircling the tip of the snout. It can be distinguished from Parascalops breweri by its tail. The tail of Scalopus aquaticus is scantily haired and appears naked. The tail of Parascalops breweri is densely covered with long coarse hairs. The skulls of Parascalops breweri and Scalopus aquaticus can easily be differentiated based on the size, shape, and spacing of the incisors. The skull of Condylura cristata is easily recognized by the size, shape, and spacing of the incisors as well as the tricuspidate edges of the upper molars.

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  • Hairy-tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri) observed in Ontario, Canada, by Steve Marks. Notice that the tail is densely covered with long coarse hairs.
  • Lateral view of the Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata)
  • Ventral view of the Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) showing the distinctive and unique fringe of pink nasal rays encircling the tip of the nose.
  • Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus) observed in Texas by Brigid Berger. Notice that the tail is scantily haired and appears naked.

References

Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.

Best TL, Dusi JL. 2014. Mammals of Alabama (Vol. 4). Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Best TL, Hunt JL. 2020. Mammals of the southeastern United States. Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Hazard EB. 1982. The mammals of Minnesota. Minneapolis (MN, USA): University of Minnesota Press.

Kurta A. 2017. Mammals of the Great Lakes region. Ann Arbor (MI, USA): University of Michigan Press.

Linnaeus C von. 1758. Systema Naturae. Regnum Animale. 10th Ed. Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm, Sweden 1, 53.

Linzey DW. 1998. The mammals of Virginia. McDonald & Woodward Publishing.

Naughton D. 2012. The natural history of Canadian mammals. Toronto (ON, CA): University of Toronto Press.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

Slonaker JR. 1902. The eye of the common mole, Scalopus aquaticus machrinus. Journal of Comparative Neurology 12:33.

Yates TL, Schmidly DJ. 1978. Scalopus aquaticus. Mammalian Species (105): 1-4.

Webster WD, Parnell JF, Biggs WC. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Chapel Hill (NC, USA): University of North Carolina Press.

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