mole

Meet the star (nosed) of the show

dr. dolittle | May 12, 2017
Front view of a star-nosed mole. Credit: Ken Catania Dr. Kenneth Catania from Vanderbilt University presented his work with star-nosed moles at the Experimental Biology meeting last month in Chicago. These animals are really cool. Here are some facts from Dr. Catania about these crazy-looking creatures you may not know: If participating in a bug-eating contest, they would win hands down every time because they are the fastest-eating mammal known. In fact, they can identify and consume a bug in a record less than two tenths of a millisecond. This is possible thanks to neurons that…

The star-nosed mole's amazing appendages

Life Sciences User Image neurophilosophy | August 26, 2009
THIS weird and wonderful creature is the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata), a small, semi-aquatic mammal which inhabits the low wetlands of eastern North America. Like other moles, it ekes out an existence in a network of narrow underground tunnels, and digs shallow surface tunnels where it forages for insects, worms and molluscs. Living as it does in almost complete darkness, the star-nosed mole has poorly developed eyes, and is virtually blind. Instead, it relies heavily on its remarkable star-shaped nose. This organ enables the star-nosed mole to decide whether something is edible with…

Of Moles and Men (and worms)

User Image zooillogix | October 15, 2008
"Worm grunting" is a curious but popular practice for harvesting earthworms in Florida's Apalachicola National Forest. To summon earthworms to the surface, worm grunters drive a wooden stake into the soil and vibrate it. Panicked worms pour out of the ground and thousands can be gathered in just a few hours. Lifelong worm grunters (and there are families that have been professional worm grunters for multiple generations) have a variety of theories regarding the underlying mechanisms of their trade. However, Kenneth Catania, a researcher from Vanderbilt, has come up with an explanation to this…

Sniffing Underwater

User Image zooillogix | August 13, 2008
A ScienceFriday video podcast from over a year ago on how the star-nosed mole and other mammals can actually sniff for prey underwater. I wonder if this is what my dog is doing and she sticks her nose to the base of the door and snorts as people approach.