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Mole (animal)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

        How to read a taxoboxMoles
         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 family (Talpidae) of mammals in the order
   Soricomorpha that live underground, burrowing holes. Some species are
   aquatic or semi-aquatic. They have cylindrical bodies covered in fur
   with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They
   feed on small invertebrate animals living underground. Moles can be
   found in North America, Europe, Asia and the eastern seaboard of
   Australia.

   Male moles are called boars, females are called sows. A group of moles
   is called a labour.

Diet

   A mole's diet is primarily composed of earthworms and other small
   invertebrates. The mole will also occasionally catch small mice at the
   entrance to its burrow. Once the food is caught, the mole will either
   store it for later or feed it to its young.

   The Star-nosed Mole can detect, catch and eat food faster than the
   human eye can follow (under 300 milliseconds).

Evolution

   Darwin cites moles as an example of organs being phased out:

     The eyes of moles and of some burrowing rodents are rudimentary in
     size, and in some cases are quite covered by skin and fur. 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. 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
               o Genus Condylura
          + Tribe Scalopini
               o Genus Parascalops
               o Genus Scalopus
               o Genus Scapanulus
               o Genus Scapanus
     * Subfamily Talpinae
          + Tribe Desmanini
               o Genus Desmana
               o Genus Galemys
          + Tribe Neurotrichini
               o Genus Neurotrichus
          + Tribe Scaptonychini
               o Genus Scaptonyx
          + Tribe Talpini
               o Genus Euroscaptor
               o Genus Mogera
               o Genus Parascaptor
               o Genus Scaptochirus
               o Genus Talpa
          + Tribe Urotrichini
               o Genus Dymecodon
               o 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. Problems
   caused are cited as 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. Other species such as
   weasels and voles may use mole tunnels to gain access to enclosed areas
   or plant roots.

   Moles that burrow in the lawns of humans can disturb the earth, raising
   molehills and causing enough aesthetic problems to be considered as
   pests. They do however benefit the soil by aerating and tilling it,
   adding to its fertility. Contrary to popular belief, moles don't eat
   plant roots.

   They are controlled with traps and poisons such as calcium carbide and
   strychnine.

   Moles are considered to be a very dirty, smelly and filthy animal in
   India. The Hindi word for a mole, viz., छछुन्दर / tʃʰətʃʰund̪ər /, when
   used for a man, implies a very filthy and cowardly person.

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.

   There are also similar-looking but herbivorous rodents called mole-rats
   that lead a similar life-style and are commonly called "moles",
   although, unlike mole-rats, no species of true mole is known to be
   eusocial.

Trivia

   A mole
   A mole
   Another picture of a mole
   Another picture of a mole
   A mole hill
   A mole hill
     * Contrary to what many believe, moles do not hibernate. Having to
       eat their own body weight daily, their metabolism will not allow
       them to store fat. As the surface of the ground gets cold, their
       food source goes deeper -- so does the mole.
     * The silky fur of mole, moleskin, was originally being used in
       bounding the famous moleskine notebooks.
     * Even though the soft mole is considered to be small and helpless,
       it is said to have caused the death of William III of England in
       1702, when he fell from his horse after it stumbled over a mole
       hill.
     * Many types of earth-burrowing machines take their names from moles.
     * An adult mole has 44 teeth, one of the largest number for a
       terrestrial mammal.
     * Dogs have been known to dig moles out of the ground and bite them
       to death.
     * One of British comedian Jasper Carrott's sketches involves him
       trying to get rid of a mole that had moved into to his garden, at
       one point, as he described, trying to use a shotgun, a swirling
       chair, and a torch.
     * In a study done in 2007 in the Lake District, UK, an average mole
       hill weight was calculated to be about 4.5 kg.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_%28animal%29"
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