Moles[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Soricomorpha Family: Talpidae G. Fischer, 1814
Genera
17 genera, see text

Moles are members of the mammal family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands The order Soricomorpha ("shrew-form" is a biological Clade within the class of Mammals In previous years it formed a significant Johann Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim ( Grigorij Ivanovitsch Fischer von Waldheim in Russian) ( October 13, 1771 &ndash October 18, Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands In Biological classification, family ( Latin The order Soricomorpha ("shrew-form" is a biological Clade within the class of Mammals In previous years it formed a significant Although most moles burrow, 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. An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate Moles can be found in North America, Europe and Asia.

Male moles are called boars; females are called sows. A group of moles is called a labor. In Linguistics, a collective noun is a word used to define a group of objects where "objects" can be People, Animals Inanimate things Since at least the era of Early Modern English the mole was also known in the UK as a "moldywarp" or "moldywarpes"^[2] (plural). Early Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 15th century to 1650

Contents 1 Diet 2 Evolution 3 Classification 4 Pest status 5 Similarly named animals 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Diet

A mole's diet primarily consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil. Earthworm is the usual name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author in the phylum Annelida In classical 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]

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

Evolution

Darwin cites moles as an example of mammals that have organs that have become vestigial and are being phased out by natural selection:

The eyes of moles and of some burrowing rodents are rudimentary in size, and in some cases are quite covered by skin and fur. Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life 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. The tuco-tucos are members of a group of rodents that belong to the family Ctenomyidae. 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)

Classification

The family is divided into 3 subfamilies, 7 tribes, and 17 genera:

• 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

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. The Star-nosed Mole ( Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States The Star-nosed Mole ( Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States The Hairy-tailed Mole ( Parascalops breweri) also known as Brewer's Mole, is a medium-sized North American mole. The Eastern Mole or Common Mole ( Scalopus aquaticus) is a medium-sized North American mole. UserPolbot. -->The Gansu Mole ( Scapanulus oweni) is a species of Mammal in the Talpidae family UserPolbot. --> Scapanus is a Genus of moles in the family Talpidae. The subfamily Talpinae is one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Scalopinae and Uropsilinae. The Desmans or tribe Desmanini are one of several tribes of the mole family Talpidae. The Russian Desman ( Desmana moschata) (выхухоль is a small Semi-aquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River The Pyrenean Desman ( Galemys pyrenaicus) is a small Semi-aquatic mammal that lives in the Pyrenees to the Iberian peninsula. The Shrew-mole ( Neurotrichus gibbsii) is the smallest North American mole. The Shrew-mole ( Neurotrichus gibbsii) is the smallest North American mole. UserPolbot. -->The Long-tailed Mole ( Scaptonyx fusicaudus) is a species of Mammal in the Talpidae family Talpini is a tribe, in the scientific classification system of Binomial nomenclature. UserPolbot. --> Euroscaptor is a genus of Mammal in the Talpidae family For the kaiju/mecha see Moguera Mogera is a genus of Mammal in the Talpidae family The White-tailed Mole ( Parascaptor leucura) is a species of Mammal in the Talpidae family UserPolbot. -->The Short-faced Mole ( Scaptochirus moschatus) is a species of Mammal in the Talpidae Talpa is a Genus in the mole family Talpidae. Members of the genus are found primarily in Europe and western Asia UserPolbot. --> True's Shrew Mole ( Dymecodon pilirostris) is a species of Mammal in the Talpidae family UserPolbot. -->The Japanese Shrew Mole or Himizu ( ヒミズ) ( Urotrichus talpoides) is a species of Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. 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. For the Christian Alternative band please see Silage (band Silage is fermented, high-moisture Fodder that can Other species such as weasels and voles may use mole tunnels to gain access to enclosed areas or plant roots. Weasels are Mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. A vole is a small Rodent resembling a Mouse but with a stouter body a shorter hairy tail a slightly rounder head and smaller ears and eyes

Moles burrow in lawns, raising molehills, and killing the lawn, for which they are sometimes considered pests. A molehill (or mole-hill) is a conical mound of loose Soil raised by small Burrowing Mammals including moles but also similar animals A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded by Humans as injurious or unwanted They can undermine plant roots, indirectly causing damage or death. Contrary to popular belief, moles don't eat plant roots.

They are controlled with traps, smoke bombs, and poisons such as calcium carbide and strychnine. Calcium carbide is a Chemical compound with the Chemical formula of Ca[[Carbide C2]] Strychnine (ˈstrɪkniːn (British US /-naɪn/ or /-nɪn/ (US

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. Humane traps which capture the mole alive so that it may be transported elsewhere are also options.

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. Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing Mammals native to southern Africa. Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing Mammals native to southern Africa. The two species of marsupial moles are rare and poorly understood burrowing Mammals of the deserts of Western Australia. The two species of 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. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must Eusociality ( Greek eu: "good" + "social" is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification

See also

• Vole

References

External links

• UK Government DEFRA paper on control the European Mole

Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus" "so" "as such" or "just as that"

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