European mole

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Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Genus:	Talpa
Species:	T. europaea
Binomial name
Talpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758
European mole range

The European mole (Talpa europaea) is a mammal of the order Eulipotyphla. It is also known as the common mole and the northern mole.^[3]

This

The Aquitanian mole (T. aquitania) was formerly considered conspecific, but was described as a distinct species in 2017.

Distribution

The European mole has a wide range throughout Europe and westernmost Asia, being found as far north as the United Kingdom and southern Scandinavia, as far south as northern Greece, and as far east as western Siberia. It is the only mole species in most of this range. The Loire River in France was thought to form the western barrier to the species' range, separating it from the Aquitanian mole, but studies indicate that while this is largely true, it is not a strict barrier, as member of either species have been found on opposite sides of the river, likely making them sympatric in at least some places.^[5]

Description

The European mole has a cylindrical body and is 11 to 16 cm (4+1⁄2 to 6+1⁄2 in) long, weighing 70 to 130 g (2+1⁄2 to 4+1⁄2 oz).^[6] Females are typically smaller than males. The eyes are small and hidden behind fur, while the ears are just small ridges in the skin. The fur is usually dark grey, but the actual range of colors is larger, as due to the subterranean habits there is no disadvantage in having off-colored fur. European moles with white, light grey, tan, taupe, and black fur have all been reported.^{[citation needed]}

Habitat

While moles are typically found in tunnel systems, the European mole is not exclusively an underground dweller. In the spring and early summer when the young moles leave their mothers' burrows they must find new territories. This forces them to leave their burrows and they can either make new tunnel systems or enter existing systems. In the summer time, however, they are likely to burrow much more superficially. The superficial burrowing could be due in part to the soil that is much harder, which makes burrowing a greater challenge.^[7]

T. europaea have also been found to spend a lot of time at the sides of drainage lines and streams but do not inhabit flooded or dry soils. However, dry areas do become important when their normal habitats become flooded. Factors such as the type of soil, vegetation present, and altitude have no effect on the areas that moles choose to inhabit. The one factor that does greatly influence the mole population in a specific area is the abundance of earthworms.^[8] In suitable urban greenspace, an area of 10 hectares is required for population persistence, and the number of mole territories increases with available habitat.^[9]

Reproduction

The European mole has a relatively short

One common belief about European moles is that they typically consume their own weight in food every 24 hours, but this is an exaggeration. Studies have been performed that show European moles eat about half of their body weight in food each day. When in captivity, European moles will eat a wide variety of food items, including liver, mice, mealworms, shrews and maggots. However, they tend to prefer earthworms over all other options.^[7] In areas without as many earthworms, insects are the main dietary constituent.^[11] Moles eat both larval and adult insects.^[11]

Vision

Due to the subterranean nature of this mole, there is an anatomical regression of its eyes at several organizational levels. Its eye has a