CreatureData

Star-nosed mole

Condylura cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernmammals

The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a species in the family Talpidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 52.2 g to 84 g and live up to 2.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata)
Photo: US National Parks Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the star-nosed mole

Weight
52.2 g – 84 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
2.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
40 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
3 – 7src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
9.99 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the star-nosed mole live?

Not recorded

What is the star-nosed mole?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a small semiaquatic mole found in moist, low elevation areas in the northeastern parts of North America. It is the only extant member of the tribe Condylurini and genus Condylura. It has more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors in touch organs, known as Eimer's organs, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around. With the help of its Eimer's organs, it may be perfectly poised to detect seismic wave vibrations.

The nose is about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in diameter with its Eimer's organs distributed on 22 appendages. Eimer's organs were first described in the European mole in 1872 by German zoologist Theodor Eimer. Other mole species also possess Eimer's organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the star-nosed mole. Because the star-nosed mole is functionally blind, the snout was long suspected to be used to detect electrical activity in prey animals, though little, if any, empirical support has been found for this hypothesis. The nasal star and dentition of this species appear to be primarily adapted to exploit extremely small prey. A report in the journal Nature gives this animal the title of fastest-eating mammal, taking as little as 120 milliseconds (average: 227 ms) to identify and consume individual food items. Its brain decides in approximately eight milliseconds if prey is edible or not. This speed is at the limit of the speed of neurons.

These moles are also able to smell underwater, accomplished by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.

From the Wikipedia article “Star-nosed mole” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star-nosed_mole&oldid=1381130580), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the star-nosed mole endangered?

The star-nosed mole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the star-nosed mole classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familyTalpidae
  6. genusCondylura
  7. SpeciesCondylura cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Sorex cristatus

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • Звездоноса къртицаBulgarian
  • Goz min-sterennBreton
  • Talp de musell estrellatCatalan
  • krtek hvězdonosýCzech
  • SternmullGerman
  • Αστερόρυγχος ΑσπάλακαςGreek
  • stelnaza talpoEsperanto
  • Topo Nariz de EstrellaSpanish
  • Topo de nariz estrelladaSpanish
  • موش ستارهپوزهPersian
  • tähtikuonokontiainenFinnish
  • condylure étoiléFrench
  • condylure à nez étoiléFrench
  • חפרפרת מצוייצתHebrew
  • Csillagorrú vakondHungarian
  • Talpa dal muso stellatoItalian
  • Talpa dal naso a stellaItalian
  • ホシバナモグラJapanese
  • 별코두더지Korean
  • Žvaigždžiasnukiai kurmiaiLithuanian
  • Од хамарт сохор номинMongolian
  • Náʼagéédí bichį́į́h sǫʼ nahalinígííNavajo
  • StjernemuldvarpNorwegian Bokmål
  • StermolDutch
  • SterneusmolDutch
  • nenaapaajinikesiOjibwa
  • GwiazdonosPolish
  • Gwiazdonos amerykańskiPolish
  • Toupeira-nariz-de-estrelaPortuguese
  • ЗвездоносRussian
  • ЗвездорылRussian
  • krt zvezdašSlovenian
  • StjärnmullvadSwedish
  • ตุ่นจมูกดาวThai
  • Yıldızburun KöstebekTurkish
  • Yıldız burunlu köstebekTurkish
  • 星鼻鼴Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the star-nosed mole

Other species in the same family Talpidae.

CompareStar-nosed mole vs European moleStar-nosed mole vs Russian desmanStar-nosed mole vs Pyrenean desmanStar-nosed mole vs Eastern mole

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the star-nosed mole?

An adult star-nosed mole weighs 52.2 g – 84 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the star-nosed mole endangered?

The star-nosed mole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the star-nosed mole live?

The star-nosed mole has a recorded lifespan of 2.5 years.

How long is the star-nosed mole pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 40 days.

What kind of animal is the star-nosed mole?

The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) belongs to the family Talpidae in the order Eulipotyphla.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-nosed-mole

MLA

“Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-nosed-mole.

BibTeX
@misc{star_nosed_mole_2026,
  title = {Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-nosed-mole},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}