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

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.

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.

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.