Coast Mole
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| Scapanus orarius (True, 1896) |
The Coast Mole or Pacific Mole (Scapanus orarius) is a medium-sized North American mole.
It is found in forested and open areas with moist soils along the Pacific coast from southwestern British Columbia to central California.
This animal has velvety black fur, a pointed snout and a short nearly hairless tail. It is about 16 cm in length including a 3 cm long tail and weighs about 62 g. Its front paws are broad and spade-shaped, specialized for digging; the rear paws are smaller. It has 44 teeth. Its ears are not visible and it has small eyes. It is similar in appearance to the larger Townsend's Mole.
This mole spends most of its time underground, foraging in shallow burrows for earthworms, small invertebrates and some plant material. It is active year round.
This animal is mainly solitary except during mating in late winter. The female has a litter of 2 to 4 young in a deep underground burrow.
[edit] References
- ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 302. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Scapanus orarius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-05-12. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
