Scalopus aquaticus
eastern mole

Scalopus aquaticus is found from southeastern Wyoming, South Dakota, and central Texas east to Michigan, Massachusetts, and New England, south to the tip of Florida, and north to Ontario. Small relict populations are found in southwestern Texas and in northwestern Mexico.

The eastern mole prefers fields, meadows, pastures, and open woodland. It is not found in stony or gravelly soils or in clay but frequents moist, sandy, and loamy soils.

Head and body length in Scalopus aquaticus ranges from 110 to 170mm. Tail length ranges from 18 to 36mm. This size variation occurs on a gradient with the largest animals in the northeast and the smallest in the southwest. The robust body is covered with a thick velvety fur of a color that varies from silver to black to copper. The short tail is round, almost hairless, and indistinctly scaly. The feet are scantily haired above, naked below, and quite large. The webbing between the toes of each foot aids in digging. These moles have no external eyes or ears. It is thought that the poorly developed eye may be effective in detecting light.

One captive animal lived longer than 36 months. In the wild it is likely that eastern moles live for less than this.

A study in Kentucky found that S. aquaticus has daily activity peaks from 0800 to 1600 and from 2300 to 0400. Male home range averages 1.09 hectares whereas female home range averages only .28 hectares. These moles are not solitary. Their home ranges often overlap and several individuals have been found using the same tunnel systems. These tunnels are found in two forms. One type consists of deep, fairly permanent passageways that are used as burrows and as routes to feeding sites. The other consists of surface runways used for collecting food. Winter tunnels tend to be deeper than summer tunnels. Nest chambers of dry vegetation are usually below the surface underneath a boulder or the roots of a plant. Eastern moles can dig up to 4.5 meters in one hour with their powerful forefeet. One individual dug 31 meters of shallow tunnels in one day. Special morphological developments enable the mole to burrow with such speed. Their forefeet are large and as wide as they are long. The bones of their shoulder girdles and upper forelimbs provide broad suraces for muscle attachment. When they burrow, these moles essentially "dive" into the earth; they first thrust their forefeet into the soil and then follow with the head and body as they rotate their forelimbs and pull the loosened dirt backwards.

Scalopus aquaticus has high energy requirements and needs considerable amounts of food daily. As a result this animal forages widely; the incidence of inbreeding is low and the level of gene flow is fairly high. These patterns are unusual for fossorial mammals. Soil type and moisture are the eastern mole's major barriers to dispersal. They are good swimmers and are limited not by water itself but rather by the moist, clay-filled soils that accompany water courses. Soil acidity, which determines food abundance, provides another potential barrier to dispersal.

Although eastern moles have no vision, they may be able to detect the presence or absence of light. Their ears are also covered by a layer of skin but they may be able to detect sounds and vibrations. Eastern moles probably find their way around and detect prey by their acute senses of smell and touch.

Scalopus aquaticus eats primarily earthworms. It also eats insects and their larvae, some vegetation, and, in captivity, ground beef, dog food, mice, and small birds. Each day this mole eats 25 to 100% of its own weight in food.

Eastern moles spend 99% of their time in their underground tunnels, there are few predators that can find and catch them there.

Eastern moles are important predators of insect larvae and other invertebrates, they can profoundly impact the communities of their prey. They also act to aerate and turn soil where they live through their extensive tunneling activities.

The eastern mole damages pastures and gardens by digging and injuring bulbs and root masses.

As an insectivore, this animal eats the larvae of many insect pests. It also helps to aerate and turn over the soil.

The eastern mole is not endangered but has suffered persecution by avid gardeners and farmers who are displeased by the mounds of earth left behind and by the root damage caused by this animal.