• Weight is approximately 1.10 to 5.0 ounces (average 2.6 ounces).
• No external eyes or ears.
• Eyes poorly developed with no vision, but may detect light.
• Ears covered by a layer of skin, and may detect sound and vibration.
• Closely related to carnivorous mammals with a tooth count: 36 I3/2; C1/0; P3/3; M3/3.
• Vocalizations of high-pitched squeals, guttural squeaks, short snorting and teeth grating.
• Navigate and detect prey through acute touch and smell.
• Short, round tail is almost hairless and indistinctly scaled.
• Spade-shaped feet possess sparse hair above and hairless below.
• Webbing between toes aids digging.

• A large surface-to-volume ratio, and high metabolism, requires a daily food intake of 70 percent to 100 percent of the mole’s body weight.
• It is a carnivore, feeding upon earthworms, slugs, snails, centipedes and larval/adult insects.
• Forages over large areas.

• Few natural enemies (threatened by spring flooding).
• Does not readily inbreed, so gene flow is high (rare for a fossorial mammal).
• Gestation period is approximately 42 days (three to five young are born March through April).
• Active 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• Male possesses an orange strip on its belly (skin gland secretions).
• Morphologically developed forefeet are broader than long with claws (possess a specialized wrist sesamoid bones to facilitate digging).
• Forefeet are held in a vertical position with the palms facing outward.
• Forefeet and small hind feet are fringed with sensory hairs to facilitate excavation.
• Hip girdle is narrow, permitting a somersault turn-around within the tunnel.
• Plunge forefeet into soil, followed by the head and body (rotate forelimbs to pull soil backwards).
• Excavate approximately 15 tunnel feet/hour (up to about 100 tunnel feet/day).
• Volcano-shaped molehills are new tunnels where excess soil is pushed-up through vertical shafts.
• Spends 99 percent of time within tunnels.
• Large spleen provides abundant red blood cells for survival within tunnels with an Oxygen level as low as 14.3 percent and Carbon dioxide level as high as 5.5 percent.
• Female range averages 0.7 acres.
• Male range averages 2.7 acres.
• Numerous individuals travel permanent tunnels.
• Deep tunnels (approximately 10 inches below surface) contain nest chambers (burrows), feeding routes and facilitate overwintering.
• Nest chambers of dry vegetation are under portions of large trees, buildings or sidewalks.
• Shallow tunnels for food collection.
• Aerate soil.
• Respectable swimmer.
• Soil acidity is a potential dispersal barrier (determines food availability).
• Clay-filled soil is a potential dispersal barrier.

Stuart Mitchell, DO, DVM, PsyD, BCE, is an entomologist, veterinarian, observing physician and consulting clinical psychologist, and a regular contributor to Pest Management Professional's Direct to You series.

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