East American mole
| East American mole | ||||||||||||
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East American mole ( Scalopus aquaticus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Scalopus | ||||||||||||
| É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire , 1803 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Scalopus aquaticus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The East American mole ( Scalopus aquaticus ) is a species of mammal from the mole family (Talpidae) living in eastern North America .
features
East American moles are characterized by their comparatively long snouts and wide grave shovels. As with many moles, the eyes and ears are not externally visible and the cylindrical trunk is adapted to a burrowing way of life. The blood is also adapted to the subterranean way of life. Since underground passages are poorly ventilated, the carbon dioxide concentration here is often significantly higher than on the surface. The East American moles have a special hemoglobin that enables a higher CO 2 absorption. This means that more CO 2 can be transported in the body. They are also able to perceive odors with both nostrils separately, which can be called stereoscopic . They use this ability to search for food underground. In an experiment it was shown that earthworms are not found at all with a blocked nostril much later, with a crossed odor perception with the help of fine plastic tubes.
The fur is soft, it can be colored brown, gray or black. The toes of the front paws are connected by web-like skin flaps, which is reflected in the epithet aquaticus . (They can swim like many moles if necessary, but they do not lead a special aquatic way of life.) These moles reach a head body length of 11 to 17 centimeters, plus a 2 to 4 centimeter long, hairless tail. The weight is 40 to 140 grams.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area extends over southern Ontario ( Canada ) and large parts of the eastern USA ( Wyoming and Texas to Massachusetts and Florida ), isolated populations can also be found in northeastern Mexico . Its habitat is rather moist soils in open forests, meadows and cultivated landscapes.
Way of life
Like all New World moles , these animals lead an underground burrowing way of life. However, they often dig just below the surface, leaving behind more burr-like tracks and rarely molehills . But they also build deeper corridors, in which they spend most of the winter. A room padded with plants serves as a resting place. Like most moles, they do not have a distinct day-night rhythm and do not hibernate . They are more social than most other moles, often two or three animals use the same tunnel system.
The diet of these animals consists mainly of earthworms , but they also eat insects and their larvae.
The mating season is in spring. Once a year the female gives birth to two to five young animals after a gestation period of four to six weeks. These are suckled for around a month and sexually mature in the following spring. Life expectancy is estimated at three to six years.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kevin L. Campbell, Jay F. Storz, Anthony V. Signore, Hideaki Moriyama, Kenneth C. Catania, Alexander P. Payson, Joseph Bonaventura, Jörg Stetefeld, Roy E. Weber: Molecular basis of a novel adaptation to hypoxic-hypercapnia in a strictly fossorial mole. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 10, 2010, ISSN 1471-2148 , doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-10-214 .
- ↑ Moles smell stereo. In: Spectrum of Science . April 2013, issue 4, p. 9.
Web links
- Scalopus aquaticus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Insectivore Specialist Group, 1996. Accessed on 13/02/2007.