TALPA, the mole, in natural history, a of Mammalia, of the order Fens. Generic character : six fore-teeth in the upper jaw, unequal, eight in the lower ; tusks solitary, in the upper jaw larger ; seven grinders in the upper, and six in the lower. There are four species.
T. Europea, the European mole, is about six inches in length, without the tail. Its body is large and cylindrical, and its snout strong and cartilaginous. Its skin is of extraordinary thickness, and co vered with a fur, short, but yielding to that of no other animal in fineness. It hears with particular acuteness, and, not withstanding the popular opinion to the contrary, possesses eyes, which it is stat ed to be able to withdraw, or project, at pleasure. It lives partly on the roots of vegetables, but principally on animal food, such as worms and insects, and is extremely voracious and fierce. Shaw relates, from Sir Thomas Brown, that s? mole, a toad, and a serpent, have been re peatedly inclosed in a large glass vase, and that the mole has not only killed the others, but has devoured a very consider able part of them. It abounds in soft ground, in which it can dig with ease, and which furnishes it with the greatest supply of food. It forms its subterraneous
apartments with great facility by its snout and feet, and with a very judicious refer ence to escape and comfort. It produces four or five young in the spring, in a nest a little beneath the surface, composed of moss and herbage. It is an animal inju rious to the grounds of the farmer, by throwing up innumerable hills of mould, in the construction of its habitation, or the pursuit of its food, and many persons in England obtain their subsistence from the premiums which are, on this account, given for their destruction. Moles can swim with considerable dexterity, and are thus furnished with the means of es cape, in those sudden inundations to which they are frequently exposed. In Ireland, the mole is unknown. See Mam malia, Plate XX. fig. 5.
T. radiate, or the radiated mole, is very similar to the above, from which it is principally distinguished by a circle of radiated tendrils resembling the ray of a boot-spur, attached to the nose. It is a native of North America. See Mam malia, Plate XX. fig. 6.
The common mole of North America belongs to the genus Sorex : its specific name is Aquaticus.