Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/758

* MOLE. 680 MOLE. vora and to the family Talpiila-, although the name is often ai)j)lied to other nearly related forms. It is a small animal, generally less than eight inehes in length. Ihiekset, with short stont limbs, the anterior pair powerfvil and espe- cially adapted fur digging. The fnr is dense and soft. lying baeUward or forward with equal ease; the tail is short; and the eyes are very small. In many species the eyes aie covered over by a membrane, and recent investigations on the com- mon American nude show that the eye itself is much degenerated, and i)rohably is of practically no use as an organ of sight. Jloles are subter- ranean in their haliils, and more or less noc- turnal. They are very voracious, and eat animal food exclusively. The earth-worm is the prin- cipal article in their diet, but all other worms, grubs, caterpillars, and insects are readily eaten, and in captivity raw meat, small birds and mam- mals, and even other moles, will be seized and eaten greedily. Although the limbs are short, moles are capable of very rapid movements. When in pursuit of earth-worms, moles often travel long distances underground, and frequently so near the surface that the earth becomes raised up above the tunnel which they make. Moles are therefore constantly hunted and trapped by gardeners. The favorite metliod of capture is by means of a traji set in one of these under- ground galleries. The simplest form of trap is a wire noose so arranged on a s|)ring that when the mole enters it the spring is released and the wire is drawn taut. Moles build very remarkable nests, or homes, consisting of two circular galleries, the smaller above the larger, anil connected with it by five straight passages: at the centre is a chamber connecting with the upper gallery, while from the lower gallery horizontal passages run out in all directions. From these horizontal passages are given off the various sub-surface tunnels made when the mole is in search of food. The central chamber and circular galleries are built in a mound of eartli, more or less elevated above the surfa<e. and larger than the ordinary heaps of earth or 'molehills' thrown up by these animals. From the central chamber there is also a vertical tininel leading downward and then bending up- ward again to join one of the horizontal gal- leries. The young are not brought forth in the central chamber, but in a special chamber formed where two or three horizontal galleries meet, which is lined with leaves and other warm ma- terials. Four or live young ones are usually pro- duced at a birth, and some writers state that a second brood is ])roiluced laic in the summer. Jlcdes take to water readily and swim well, so that they are able to cross considerable lakes and streams. The anatomy of moles is interesting because it is so modified as to adapt the animal admirably to ils manner of life. The fore limbs are at- tached to tile skeleton so far forward that they lie be-ide the neck and thus add but little to the general width, yet remain sntrieicntly long to reach earth ahead of (he nose. The hind limbs are also so arranged as not to occupy unneces- snrv space, the hip joints l>eing closely approxi- mated to llie axis of the boily. The humerus is very short and of a peculiar shape, and the carpals are very wide. On the inner (radial) side of the hand is a large sieklc-shaped hone, regarded by some as a prepollex. The teeth DE.VTITION OF THE MOLE. vary in number from 30 to 44. in different genera. The Old World moles have 42 or 44 teeth, and the first and second upper incisors are of about the same size, while the moles of America have 'Mi or 44 teeth, and the first upper inci.sor is much larger than the second. The. common mole of Kurope ( Tuliia Eu- ropwa ) is very widely distributed, ranging from Eng- land to .Tapan. and from the .Altai to the Himalaya mountains. T h e eyes in this spe- cies are not covered by a membrane, as they are in the rest of the genus. The habits of the European mole have been carefully stud- ied, and the remarks made above in regard to the burrows and nests of moles refer es])ecial- ly to that species. Seven other species of Talpa are known, chielly Asiatic, but only two occur south of the llinuilayas. Jloles are absent from .frica and .Vustralasia. Two jieeuliar moles oc- cur in Tibet, one of which is placed in a distinct genus, as it has a somewhat narrower hand and only 42 teeth. The American moles belong to the genera Sealops, having .SO teeth, webbed hind feet, and a narrow, slender muzzle; Scapanus, with 44 teeth and a narrow, tapering muzzle; and Condylura, with 44 teeth and a remarkable snout-like muz- zle, fringed with a circle of about 20 slender, soft, cartilaginous processes. This last genus contains only a single species, the well known star-nosed mole (('ond)ihira criKtata). which is not uncommon throughout the Northern United States. Its very curious snout is somewhat pig- like, but the fringing processes give it a unique api)earance. In habits this species closely re- sembles the more ordinary moles. The conunon mole of the Eastern I'nited States (iS'cii/o/is (KjUfitinis) is a rather shrew-like aninuil, partial to the banks of streams. Xo moles occur south of the I'nited States. The name mole is often given to other insectiv- orous burrowing mammals, as the mole-shrew of Northwestern .merica ( .Yrmo/n'c/i».s llihbsii), which in structure approaches the desman (q.v.), but in habits is somewhat like a mole. The golden moles (q.v.) of South .friea belong to an en- tirely different family, the Chrysochlorid.T. and are not closely related to the Talpida'. although in external appearance they are strikingly like them. There are seven or eight species in the single genus Chrysoehloris. The strange 'mar- .supial mole' (q.v.) of Southern .ustralia and the 'duck mole' (i.e. the duckbill) are marsupials with more or less mole like api>ea ranee and habits. Moles are found fossil throughout the Ter- tiary strata of Europe, a fact of great signifi- cance as showing how ancient must be the in- sectivorous type of mauTnuls. The genus Talpa even may be traced back as far as the Lower Miocene, with its peculiarities of struct ore al- ready well developed. MOLE. See N.E^TS. mole', mfl'lft'. I.otns M.MTiiiEr. Count ((^- l.S.")i)). . French statesman. He was a de- scendant of the famous French magistrate Mat-