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Eastern mole
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| Eastern mole[1] | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Genus: | Scalopus É. Geoffroy, 1803 |
| Species: | S. aquaticus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scalopus aquaticus | |
| Eastern mole range | |
| Synonyms | |
The eastern mole or common mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is a medium-sized North American mole. It is the only species in the genus Scalopus. It is found in forested and open areas with moist sandy soils in northern Mexico, the eastern United States and the southwestern corner of Ontario in Canada.
Description
[edit]
The eastern mole has grey-brown fur with silver-grey underparts, a pointed nose and a short tail. It is about 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in length including a 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long tail and weighs about 75 grams (2.6 oz). Its front paws are broad and spade-shaped, specialized for digging. It has 36 teeth. Its eyes are covered by fur and its ears are not visible.
The eastern mole spends most of its time underground, foraging in shallow burrows. It feeds on earthworms, grubs, beetles, insect larvae, and plant matter. The mole is mainly solitary except during mating in early spring. The female has a litter of two to five young in a deep burrow.
In Canada, the eastern mole is limited to about 2,600 acres in southern Ontario, primarily in Essex and Kent Counties. It prefers soft, sandy, or muddy soils and avoids clay or gravel, making its suitable habitat limited.[3]
Subspecies
[edit]A majority of the moles throughout their range are Scalopus aquaticus aquaticus. All the other subspecies exist in small pocket ranges.
| Subspecies | Name | Range |
|---|---|---|
| S. a. aquaticus | Eastern mole | Throughout the mainland United States and Canada |
| S. a. anastasae | Anastasia Island mole | Anastasia Island, a small close-to-shore island off of St. Augustine, Florida.[5] |
| S. a. bassi | Englewood mole | The area within and surrounding Englewood, Florida.[6] |
| S. a. texanus | Presidia mole | The Rio Grande near and between the Cibolo and Alamito Creeks.[7] |
Predation
[edit]Occasionally, when eastern moles do exit their burrows, they may be spotted and eaten by red foxes, gray foxes, coyotes, domestic dogs, domestic cats, raccoons, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, broad-winged hawks, eastern screech-owls, barred owls, and barn owls.[8]
See also
[edit]- Rockport virus, a virus first discovered in eastern moles
References
[edit]- ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 301–302. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Matson, J.; Woodman, N.; Castro-Arellano, I.; de Grammont, P.C. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Scalopus aquaticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T41471A115188304. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T41471A22319923.en. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Waldron, G. (2000). "Range, habitat, and population size of the Eastern Mole, Scalopus aquaticus, in Canada". The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 114 (3): 351–358. doi:10.5962/p.363987.
- ^ "Explore the Taxonomic Tree".
- ^ "Anastasia Island Mole (Scalopus aquaticus anastasae) mEAMOa_CONUS_2001v1 Habitat Map - ScienceBase-Catalog".
- ^ "Mammalogy 39436: Scalopus aquaticus bassi".
- ^ "Presidio Mole (Scalopus aquaticus texanus) mEAMOt_CONUS_2001v1 Habitat Map - ScienceBase-Catalog".
- ^ Scalopus aquaticus (eastern mole). Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Scalopus_aquaticus/
Eastern mole
View on GrokipediaTaxonomy
Classification
The Eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is classified within the domain Eukaryota, kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Eulipotyphla, family Talpidae, subfamily Scalopinae, genus Scalopus, and species S. aquaticus.[6][7] The family Talpidae encompasses moles and mole-like insectivores, with Scalopinae representing the New World fossorial moles adapted for burrowing in North American soils.[7][8] The genus Scalopus is monotypic, containing only the Eastern mole as its sole species, which underscores its unique phylogenetic position among North American talpids.[2][7] Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 under the binomial Sorex aquaticus (within the shrew genus Sorex), reflecting early misconceptions of its aquatic habits based on limited specimens, it was later reclassified into Scalopus by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1803 to better reflect its mole-like morphology.[7][9] Evolutionarily, the Eastern mole's lineage traces back to the Miocene epoch, approximately 23 to 5.3 million years ago, when scalopine moles diverged within Talpidae, originating in North America before some lineages dispersed to Eurasia.[10] Fossil records indicate early Miocene appearances of scalopine ancestors, with the genus Scalopus exhibiting a mid-Miocene diversification event.[11] It shares a common ancestry with other North American moles, such as the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata), within a clade of advanced fossorial talpids that emerged during this period, adapting to subterranean lifestyles amid shifting paleoenvironments.[11][12]Subspecies
The Eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is divided into multiple subspecies, primarily distinguished by geographic isolation and subtle morphological variations, with four particularly notable ones recognized based on historical taxonomic revisions. These include S. a. aquaticus, the nominate subspecies widespread across much of the species' range; S. a. anastasae, restricted to Anastasia Island in Florida; S. a. bassi, found in the Englewood area of Florida; and S. a. texanus, occurring in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.[2]| Subspecies | Distribution | Key Morphological Traits |
|---|---|---|
| S. a. aquaticus | Widespread in eastern United States and Canada, from Massachusetts to North Carolina and beyond | Darkest pelage among subspecies (gray-black); larger body size (total length ~182 mm in males); robust skull with greatest length ~35 mm. |
| S. a. anastasae | Anastasia Island, Florida | Golden sepia pelage with bright zinc orange on face, chin, and wrists; large forefeet with long, heavy nails adapted for sandy soils; short, massive skull with heavy mastoids and short rostrum (total length >153 mm in males). |
| S. a. bassi | Englewood area, Sarasota County, Florida | Similar to S. a. anastasae in coastal adaptation but with paler dorsal pelage; slightly smaller overall size; forefeet specialized for loose, sandy substrates.[13] |
| S. a. texanus | Rio Grande Valley, including Presidio and Rockport areas, Texas | Smallest subspecies (total length <160 mm); paler, brownish-bronze pelage; short, flat skull (<33 mm greatest length) with swollen supraorbital region and large teeth.[7] |
