Hairy-tailed Mole
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| Hairy-tailed Mole[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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| Parascalops breweri (Bachman, 1842) |
The Hairy-tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri), also known as Brewer's Mole, is a medium-sized North American mole. It is the only member of genus Parascalops.
It is found in forested and open areas with dry loose soils in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
This animal has dark grey fur with lighter underparts, a pointed nose and a short hairy tail. It is about 15 cm in length including a 3 cm long tail and weighs about 55 g. Its front paws are broad and spade-shaped, specialized for digging. It has 44 teeth. Its eyes are covered by fur and its ears are not external. Its feet and snout are pinkish, but become white in older animals.
This mole spends most of its time underground, foraging in shallow burrows for insects and their larvae and earthworms. It emerges at night to feed. It is active year round. Predators include owls, foxes and large snakes.
This animal is mainly solitary except during mating in early spring. The female has a litter of 4 to 5 young in a deep underground burrow. This mole may live 4 to 5 years.
The species epithet breweri refers to Thomas Mayo Brewer, an American naturalist.
[edit] References
- ^ Hutterer, Rainer (2005-11-16). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 301. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Parascalops breweri. 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
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