Yeah, I'm cranking these out this weekend.  I don't have anything to do for school, so I figured I might as well be productive...okay, I'm still being lazy but I compile data while I'm at it.   Besides, animals are fun.  Alright...let's get down to it.  This next creature was prompted by MamieLady, who I only saw around once- must be a lurker ...anywho, I'll give you guys the...

Star-Nosed Mole   Condylura cristata

Coming from the family Talpidae, which contains moles and desmans, it is the only member of the tribe Condylurini and the genus Condylura. (By the way, a 'tribe' in biology is a taxonomic rank between subfamily and genus)

Trust me guys, you're going to love this thing...it's quite unique.

Cute, huh?

Physical Characteristics:

Adults range from 6.1–8.1 in (15.5–20.5 cm) in total length, the tail makes up a about a third of that. They can weigh between 1.1–3.0 oz (30–85 g).  They are brownish-black with silky fur.  They possess large shovel-like hands with pretty large claws to match. The tail is constricted at the base, annulated(ringed), scaly and covered with coarse hair. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter.

Like other moles, its eyes are pretty much functionless other than perhaps sensing only light and dark.  It seems to have very good hearing.  The ear openings are larger than than any other species in its range.  It is also thought to have a pretty good sense of smell.

Now, let's move on to the mole's namesake.  The most distinctive feature is obviously those pink tentacles on its nose.  There are 22 of them that are split bilaterally through the middle of the nose, in other words there are exactly 11 on each side and they're symmetrical.  Go ahead and count if you want(don't forget the tiny ones toward the center)  I'll wait....Done?  Alright, moving on...

Those tentacles are incredibly sensitive to touch because of the high concentration of touch sensory organs called Eimer's organs, possessing around 30,000 on each tentacle.  A vast portion of the mole's brain is devoted to processing tactile information. 

Habitat:

A North American species it ranges from Canada(Labrador and Nova Scotia west to Manitoba), through the Great Lakes region of the United States and to South Carolina. A few spotty populations extend to coastal Georgia. (Apparently they live around me, the Great Lakes aren't too far away, but I've never seen one. )

When not haunting the dreams of impressionable children, the star-nosed mole is found in a variety of habitats with moist soil, such as swamps, bogs, near lakes and streams, and low, wet meadows.  Anywhere with that's damp, preferably with a water source so the little fella can go swimming.  Yep, they swim in addition to digging tunnels.  This makes them semi-aquatic and fossorial (underground dwellers).

There's moles in them there hills!

The tunnels are 1.3-3in (~3.3-7.6cm) wide, typically wider than tall, and can extend as much as 295yd (~270m) along the edge of a suitably wet habitat. The mole digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging but it does not dig deeper burrows for protection in the winter. The surface tunnels vary in depth from 1.2-23.5in (~3-60cm), only occasionally coming close enough to the surface to cause a raised ridge, which may exit underwater. The loose soil dug from the tunnels is pushed out onto the surface, forming 'molehills' that can be 23.5in (~60cm) wide and 6in (~15cm) high. A spherical nest about 5.1in (~13cm) in diameter is constructed in the tunnel system above the water line, often under a log or similar protective object, and lined with dry leaves or grass.

Diet:

Primarily a vermivore(something that eats worms or wormlike things)  Its diet consists of earthworms, insect larvae, and other invertebrates in their tunnels, or swimming to hunt aquatic invertebrates, leeches, or an occasional small fish or crustacean.

Behavior:

It can be active during day or night.  Doesn't really matter when you can't see. 

It digs tunnels and swims.  Not much to elaborate on there. It will also spend time on the surface looking for food, moreso than other moles. When foraging underground it'll zip around through tunnels checking for prey with that nose, the tentacles constantly moving and touching things.  Same thing when swimming. except for that fact that it has figured out how to smell underwater.  It will exhale so that the bubble of air will touch an object and then quickly inhale the bubble again.(some other mammals can do this as well, aquatic shrews for instance)

Sniffing underwater, now that's a neat a trick.

During winter they may break through the ground and dig around in the snow.  They will also still go swimming under the ice and tend to rely more on the water as a source of food over the winter.  Of course that tail fattens up during that time and probably helps them survive when food is scarce. This species commonly overwinters in small colonies, occasionally in male-female pairs.

Also, they are the world's fastest eaters.  They can identify a prey item and consume it within 1/5 of a second.  This process is only limited by the speed of the signal along its neurons from nose to brain.  They eat quite a bit, able to consume their body weight in food every day.

Young star-nosed moles make some high-pitched vocalizations and adults are known to make wheezing sounds. There is little information available on how individuals communicate with each other.

Mating takes place in late winter or early spring. Gestation lasts approximately 45 days, and young are born in late April through mid-June which are hairless, helpless, and(not that it matters) blind. Females produce one litter of 2-7 young per year. Young are independent at 30 days and reach maturity at 10 months. The general life span is about 2 years in captivity, but could range from 3-4 years in the wild.

Interesting Facts:

Have you been reading the article?  This whole damn creature is interesting. There's a freakin' star on its nose!

Laboratory tests seem to indicate that they can be drawn to electrical signals in water(batteries or parts of prey with highest electrical activity).  If they truly are, then this makes the star-nosed mole and the platypus the only mammals capable of picking up on the electrical signals of other animals.

The testes of males can be 8.8% of the total body weight during the mating season.

It's not threatened or endangered but habitats have been decreasing as wetlands and swamps are drained.  Luckily it usually doesn't cause problems for humans because of its habitat, but when we take that habitat away...well, that's an issue.

The star of tentacles is formed in a unique way so far not seen other places in the animal world. Instead of growing in the same way fingers grow outward on a hand, they start as swellings on the face around the nose, and some days after birth they break free and move forward.

Like this:

The tentacles are all bunched and facing backwards.  They start to spring forward and after a few weeks they're in the proper place.

Truly one of the weirdest creatures on the planet.

(There's a video of it chomping on an earthworm in the comments)

~Zoo