Facts about Star-Nosed Mole Sensory System
- 07
During winter, the star-nosed mole's tail swells up to four times its normal diameter, serving as both fat storage and an additional touch-sensing organ.
- 06
Star-nosed moles are among the fastest-eating mammals on Earth, requiring an average of about 227 milliseconds to identify and consume a food item.
- 05
Neuroscientist Kenneth Catania's research established that the star-nosed mole's central pair of appendages functions analogously to the primate fovea, serving as a tactile high-resolution zone.
- 04
Underwater, star-nosed moles can smell by exhaling air bubbles onto objects and re-inhaling them to detect scent molecules.
- 03
Eimer's organs on the star allow the mole to identify prey through touch in as little as 8 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest foragers among mammals.
- 02
A disproportionately large area of the star-nosed mole's brain cortex is devoted to processing signals from the star, particularly its central appendages called the fovea.
- 01
The star-nosed mole has 22 fleshy appendages surrounding its nostrils, forming a star-shaped organ packed with more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors called Eimer's organs.