Home/Species/ Star-nosed Mole

Condylura cristata

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Star-nosed Mole

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102048

Element CodeAMABB05010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassMammalia

OrderEulipotyphla

FamilyTalpidae

GenusCondylura

Other Common Names

Condylure à nez étoilé (FR) star-nosed mole (EN)

Concept Reference

Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-04-04

Change Date1996-11-04

Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences81 to >300

Rank Reasons

Common over large range in southeastern Canada and the eastern U.S.

Range Extent Comments

Primarily distributed in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. Labrador, Quebec, and Nova Scotia westward to eastern North Dakota and southeastern Manitoba, and south to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, south in the Appalachians to the Great Smoky Mountains (e.g., Beane 1995, Brimleyana 22:77-86), and south along the Atlantic coast to southeastern Georgia. Ranges farther north than all other native mole species.

Ecology & Habitat

Description

An unmistakable blackish -rown to black mole with a circle of 22 large fleshy appendages at the tip of the snout; eyes are small but visible; ears are barely evident; sparsely haired tail is constricted at the base; palms of forefeet are about as broad as they are long; head-body length is 100-127 mm; tail length is 56-84 mm; adult mass is 40-85 g (Nowak 1991).

Habitat

Seldom far from bodies of water. Prefers wet soils in flood plains, swamps, meadows, and other openings near water. Good swimmer and diver. May be active in water under ice in winter. More dependent on water in winter when ground is frozen. Occasionally occurs in leaf mold on the floor of dense forests. Tunnels may be shallow or deep and may open at ground surface or under water.

Nest usually is placed in a hummock, under a stump or log, in humus among rotten tree roots, or in other areas above high water, often near a stream.

Ecology

Home range probably is about 0.4 ha (Banfield 1974). Density of 4-7 per ha has been recorded for swampland (Hamilton 1931). In New York, 2-3 per ha were found during winter. Gregarious.

Reproduction

Gestation lasts about 45 days. Parturition occurs in spring or early summer (late March-early August in central New York). Litter size is 3-7, average 5-6. One litter per year. Sexually mature in 10 months. May maintain pair bond throughout the breeding season.

Palustrine Habitats

HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
Manitoba	S3	Yes
Quebec	S5	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
New Brunswick	S5	Yes
Labrador	S3	Yes
Nova Scotia	S5	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	S4	Yes
New York	S5	Yes
Massachusetts	S5	Yes
North Carolina	S4	Yes
District of Columbia	S3	Yes
Maryland	S4	Yes
Tennessee	S2	Yes
South Carolina	S3	Yes
New Hampshire	S5	Yes
Connecticut	S5	Yes
Pennsylvania	S5	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
Ohio	S3	Yes
West Virginia	S3	Yes
Florida	SNR	Yes
Maine	S5	Yes
North Dakota	SNR	Yes
Wisconsin	S4	Yes
Indiana	S2	Yes
Michigan	S5	Yes
Georgia	SU	Yes
Vermont	S5	Yes
Delaware	S4	Yes
Rhode Island	S4	Yes

Roadless Areas (4)

New Hampshire (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Kinsman Mountain	White Mountain National Forest	8,999

South Carolina (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hellhole Ext	Francis Marion National Forest	891

Vermont (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bread Loaf	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	1,768

West Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Little Mountain	Monongahela National Forest	8,172

References (18)

American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2025. Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.13) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. Available: https://www.mammaldiversity.org/
Baker, R. H. 1983. Michigan mammals. Michigan State University Press. 642 pp.
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
Bradley, R.D., L.K. Ammerman, R.J. Baker, L.C. Bradley, J.A. Cook. R.C. Dowler, C. Jones, D.J. Schmidly, F.B. Stangl Jr., R.A. Van den Bussche and B. Würsig. 2014. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2014. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 327:1-28. Available at: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP327.pdf
Carraway, L. N., L. F. Alexander, and B. J. Verts. 1993. Scapanus townsendii. Mammalian Species 434:1-7.
Godin, A. J. 1977. Wild mammals of New England. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 304 pp.
Gorman, M. L., and R. D. Stone. 1990. The natural history of moles. Cornell Univ. Press. 208 pp.
Hallett, J. G. 1978. Parascalops breweri. Mammalian Species 98. 4 pp
Hamilton, W.J. 1931. Habits of the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) Jour. Mamm. 12(4):345-355
Hartman, G. D. and T. L. Yates. 1985. Scapanus orarius. American Society of Mammalogists, Mammalian Species No. 253:1-5.
Hebda, A.J. 2011. List of mammals of Nova Scotia (including synonyms used in the literature relating to Nova Scotia) (revision 2) 24 July 2011. Nova Scotia Museum Collections Unit, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 24 pp. Online. Available: https://naturalhistory.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/inline/images/names_and_synonyms_ver3.pdf
Jackson, H. H. T. 1915. A review of the American moles. North American Fauna 38:1-100.
Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
Linzey, D.W. 2016. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 revision. Southeastern Naturalist 15(Monograph 8):1–93.
Nowak, R. M. 1991. Walker's mammals of the world. Fifth edition. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore. 1629 pp.
Peterson, K. E., and T. L. Yates. 1980. Condylura cristata. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 129:1-4.
van Zyll de Jong, C.G. 1983. Handbook of Canadian mammals. 1. Marsupials and insectivores. National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 210 pp.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.