---
title: "Star-Nosed Mole Facts, Habitat and 22 Nose Rays"
description: "Discover how the star-nosed mole uses 22 sensitive nose rays to identify prey, where it lives and why this wetland mammal is so unusual."
canonical: "https://uglyanimals.net/animals/star-nosed-mole/"
locale: "en"
content_type: "animal_profile"
primary_entity: "Star-nosed mole"
scientific_name: "Condylura cristata"
---

# Star-nosed mole: facts, habitat and how its extraordinary nose works

The star-nosed mole is a small North American mammal whose nose ends in 22 mobile rays. The star is a touch organ packed with sensory structures, allowing the mole to inspect wet soil and prey at remarkable speed.

## Quick facts

- **Scientific name:** Condylura cristata
- **Animal type:** Mole
- **Native range:** Eastern Canada and the northeastern United States
- **Habitat:** Wet soils, marshes, stream edges and other damp lowlands
- **Diet:** Aquatic invertebrates, worms and other small prey
- **Distinctive feature:** 22 tactile nasal rays
- **IUCN status:** Least Concern

## What is a star-nosed mole?

The star-nosed mole is a semi-aquatic member of the mole family. It digs tunnels like other moles but is closely associated with wet habitats and is also an effective swimmer.

Its dark fur, strong front feet and cylindrical body suit underground movement. The star is the obvious difference: eleven rays sit on each side of the nose, forming a symmetrical sensory surface around the nostrils.

## How does the star-shaped nose work?

Each ray is covered with tiny sensory structures called Eimer's organs. As the mole moves, the rays make rapid contact with soil, water, objects and possible prey. The information is processed by a large specialised region of the brain devoted to touch.

Vanderbilt research shows that the rays are not all used equally. The shortest central pair acts as a high-resolution touch area. When another ray encounters something promising, the mole shifts this central pair onto the object before deciding whether to eat it.

## Where does the star-nosed mole live and what does it eat?

Star-nosed moles occur in moist lowlands across parts of eastern North America. Marshes, wet meadows, peatlands and the edges of streams provide soft soil for tunnels and access to aquatic prey.

Their diet includes worms, insects, molluscs, crustaceans and other small invertebrates. The sensory star shortens the time needed to inspect and identify small prey in places where vision is limited.

## Why does the star-nosed mole look so strange?

Human faces place smooth skin around the nose, so a ring of moving appendages can look alien or damaged. In the mole's environment, the star is neither. It is a precise biological instrument.

The animal demonstrates how a familiar organ can be expanded for a different sense. Its nose is still involved in breathing and smell, but the visible star is dominated by touch.

## Conservation status: Least Concern

The species is not considered globally threatened, but it depends on wetlands and moist soils. Drainage, development and local water changes can still remove suitable habitat even when the species remains secure across its wider range.

## Related animals

- [Aye-aye](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/aye-aye/)
- [Naked mole-rat](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/naked-mole-rat/)
- [Saiga antelope](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/saiga-antelope/)

[See more mammals](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/mammals/)

## Related habitats and adaptations

- **Habitat:** [Freshwater and wetlands](https://uglyanimals.net/habitats/freshwater-wetlands/)
- **Habitat:** [Underground and soil](https://uglyanimals.net/habitats/underground-soil/)
- **Adaptation:** [Noses and faces](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/noses-faces/)
- **Adaptation:** [Senses and signals](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/senses-signals/)

## Sources

- [Vanderbilt University Catania Lab: Star-Nosed Mole](https://as.vanderbilt.edu/catanialab/research/star-nosed-mole/): Nasal rays, Eimer's organs and sensory organisation.
- [Animal Diversity Web: Condylura cristata](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Condylura_cristata/): Distribution, habitat, feeding and behaviour.
- [American Society of Mammalogists: Star-nosed Mole](https://mammalsociety.org/star-nosed-mole): Species identity and conservation category.