- Animals
- ›Chordates
- ›Vertebrates
- ›Mammals
- ›Therians
- ›Placental Mammals
- ›Ungulates, Carnivorans, and Allies
- ›Shrews, Moles, Hedgehogs, and Allies
- ›Shrews, Moles, and Hedgehogs
- ›Moles and Desmans
- ›New World Moles
- ›New World Moles
- ›Scalopus
Eastern Mole
Scalopus aquaticus
The eastern mole or common mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is a medium-sized, overall grey North American mole and the only member of the genus Scalopus. Its large, hairless, spade-shaped forefeet are adapted for digging. The species is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the eastern United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole.
From the article Eastern mole on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
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.
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Scalopus aquaticus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 47014.