Star-nosed Mole: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Weird and Wonderful · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. The star-nosed mole identifies and swallows prey in 227 ms on average. Its brain judges edible or not in about eight milliseconds.
2. Its nose carries about 25,000 tiny touch organs, called Eimer's organs, on a star slightly smaller than a human fingertip.
3. Roughly 52% of its cerebral cortex processes signals from the nose, which is only about 10% of its body size.
4. It smells underwater by blowing tiny air bubbles onto objects, then sucking them back in. Eight to twelve bubbles per second.
5. Females usually raise four to five hairless pups, each about 5 cm long and weighing 1.5 g.

The quiz

1. How long does it take on average to identify and swallow prey?

• 2 seconds
• 227 ms (correct)
• 8 seconds
• 1 minute

It needs 227 ms on average.

2. How many Eimer's organs does its nose carry?

• About 25,000 (correct)
• About 250
• About 2,500
• Over 2 million

Its nose carries about 25,000 Eimer's organs.

3. How much of its cortex handles signals from the nose?

• Roughly 5%
• Roughly 10%
• Roughly 52% (correct)
• Roughly 90%

Roughly 52% of its cortex processes signals from the nose.

4. How does it smell underwater?

• By blowing air bubbles and sucking them back in (correct)
• By holding its breath only
• By tasting the mud
• By listening to ripples

It blows tiny bubbles onto objects, then sucks them back in.

5. How many pups do females usually raise?

• One
• Two
• Ten to twelve
• Four to five (correct)

Females usually raise four to five hairless pups.

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