Mole Profile
There’s an entire universe just beneath the soil, from the chemical communication networks that run along fungal pathways between plants to the intricate insect metropolises and glow-in-the-dark mycelium caves.
One of the largest players in these subterranean ecosystems is a highly specialised insectivore closely related to the hedgehog: the mole.
Moles are one of the most elusive mammals in the world and can go entirely unnoticed within meters of human presence.
Mole Facts Overview
| Habitat: | Underground burrows, usually meadow, grassland |
| Location: | North America, Europe, Asia |
| Lifespan: | Some species live up to 3 or 4 years |
| Size: | Very large species might be up to 25 cm (10 inches) long |
| Weight: | 7g (0.25oz) to 220g (7.76 oz) |
| Colour: | Most black or dark brown |
| Diet: | Usually, insectivorous |
| Predators: | Owls, snakes, mustelids, cats, dogs |
| Top Speed: | Not recorded |
| No. of Species: | Around 60 |
| Conservation Status: | Least Concern to Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
Moles are the unusual cousin of the hedgehog, but one that has handed over vision and spines in favour of enormous paddle feet and special nose-based sensory Elmer’s organs.
They’re often hunted for their fur and sometimes considered a pest, but they have an important role in the fertility of the ground they live in, and they are also super cute.
Interesting Mole Facts
1. They’re related to hedgehogs
Moles are members of the Eulipotyphla order, which is one of those groups of animals that stumps taxonomists from the moment they try to pronounce it.
Classically, Insectivora was the order that homed most small, insect-eating animals that weren’t mustelids or carnivorans, but DNA analyses showed that some of the things that were once thought to be shrews were actually not, so the groups got a rebranding, and Eulipotyphla emerged.
This order exploded right after the dinosaur extinction but has since reduced, and now one branch contains the solenodons, and the other houses three other familiar families of small, insect-eating mammals: the shrews, the hedgehogs and the moles.
2. They can’t see well
This is one of the classic features of a mole, and it’s a product of living in a place that has no light.
When an attribute is no longer useful, evolution tends to reduce it, eventually to nothing, because wasting resources on fully functioning features in a place where they won’t be used is going to lower an animal’s fitness.
This is more or less what happened to the mole, as they chose to dig instead of climb or snuffle on the surface. They haven’t lost vision entirely, but it’s thought they are colourblind and near-sighted.
But this doesn’t mean they’re at all under-developed. In place of eyes, the mole has incredible tactile senses and hearing. Their long noses and sensitive feet are riddled with sensory inputs known as Elmer’s organs, and their ears have grown over to prevent dirt from entering.
Some moles have taken this one step further, as the star-nosed mole has 22 dangly little appendages sticking out of its snout for added sensory perception. 1 2
3. They are exceptional diggers
Moles may live underground but they still get around. Some species have been measured occupying underground ranges of up to two acres, which is an amazing feat for such a small mammal, even before you consider that it occurs entirely underground.
Eastern moles can dig a 49-meter burrow in a single night! 3
4. Their hands are amazing
To do this, they have specialised forelimbs that have become shovel-like and highly sensitive. Like the nose, the hands are covered in tactile structures, and help piece together the world for the mole in the absence of light.
These hands are so wide that they function just as well in the water. 4
5. They can swim
The aforementioned star-nosed mole prefers wetlands to the meadows and dry grasslands of many other species. But when it reaches the water, it doesn’t stop; it simply goes from tunnelling to swimming, using its enormous hands as paddles.
Most moles can do this, and they look adorable when they do. 5 6
6. They’re cylindrical
Another adaptation to tunnelling comes in the sausage-shaped body morphology of this strange little mammal. In order to fit inside a cylindrical tunnel, the mole itself has evolved to be more or less evenly thick from front to back.
This adds even more points to its adorable score.
7. Their fur points up
Most mammals have hair that points toward the tail. This is great for moving forwards but would act as a barb when trying to move backwards through a tunnel and get all clogged with mud and be just very uncomfortable.
The mole has fur that sticks straight out, which allows it to fold flat in both directions on the hunt for food.
8. They’re earthworm specialists
And worms are on the menu! Moles are so good at eating worms that they have a special habit of cleaning them before chowing down. The moles’ powerful hands are coordinated enough to hold the worm at one end and squeeze out all its muddy innards with the other, acting like a mangle on a tube of toothpaste.
A healthy mole will get through at least 20 worms per day using this method.
9. Some are in trouble
Most species are doing quite well, on account of them living in a world that’s far detached from human interference, but some species are struggling, including semiaquatic moles like the Russian desman, whose overlapping habitat with human development has caused it to become endangered.
Desmans have webbed feet and prehensile, snorkel-like snouts which they use to navigate through wetlands around the Ural River. They also have flattened tails for extra propulsion, and thick fur.
This fur was a source of income for many hunters historically, and while the practice has been now banned, drainage of wetlands for development has put the species on the edge.
Reintroduction efforts have started, but it remains to be seen how successful they will be.
10. They benefit the soil
Moles have had a poor relationship with people over their habit of digging holes into fields, but ecologically, they’re so important for the health of the soil. Aeration and nutrient recycling are two of the key roles that a mole plays in its habitat, and they improve the drainage as they do it.
Mole Fact-File Summary
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
Fact Sources & References
- (2009), “Scientists shed light on eyesight of moles”, University of Aberdeen.
- “Moles”, National Wildlife Federation.
- “Moles”, National Georaphic.
- “mole”, Britannica.
- Jo Mo (2015), “swimming mole / schwimmender Maulwurf”, YouTube.
- ERIKA ENGELHAUPT (2017), “Inside the Bizarre Life of the Star-Nosed Mole, World’s Fastest Eater”, National Geographic.