star-nosed mole

Or star·nose mole

[stahr-nohzd]

noun

1. a North American mole, Condylura cristata, having a starlike ring of fleshy processes around the end of the snout.

star-nosed mole

noun

1. an E North American amphibious mole, Condylura cristata , having a ring of pink fleshy tentacles around the nose

Word History and Origins

Origin of star-nosed mole¹

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.

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To emphasize the sensitivity of the snout of the star-nosed mole, Higgins says, “Imagine having six times the sensitivity of your entire hand concentrated in a single fingertip.”

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The Condylura cristata - the scientific name for a star-nosed mole - can identify its food as edible, capture it and eat it in an average of 230 milliseconds, Catania discovered.

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At one point she looks up at me like I’ve turned into a star-nosed mole and then goes back to it.

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Most of the rest were characterized as cathemeral like the star-nosed mole, the European rabbit and the muskrat.

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