Editing Mole (animal)

{{Short description|Small subterranean mammal}}
{{About|the mammals called "moles"||Mole (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Vole|text=[[vole]], a small mouse-like rodent}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Kret mole.jpg|thumb|A [[European mole]]]][[File:Talpidae_family_pictures.png|thumb|right|alt=various moles|Various moles]]

'''Moles''' are small, [[fossorial|subterranean]] [[mammal]]s. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous eyes and ears,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0011810 |title=Light Perception in Two Strictly Subterranean Rodents: Life in the Dark or Blue? |year=2010 |editor1-last=Iwaniuirst |editor1-first=Andrew |last1=Kott |first1=Ondřej |last2=Sumbera |first2=Radim |last3=Nemec |first3=Pavel |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=5 |issue=7 |pages=e11810 |pmid=20676369 |pmc=2911378|bibcode=2010PLoSO...511810K |doi-access=free }}</ref> reduced [[hindlimb]]s, and short, powerful [[forelimbs]] with large paws adapted for digging.

The word "mole" most commonly refers to many species in the family [[Talpidae]] (which are named after the [[Latin]] word for mole, ''talpa'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riddle |first=Joseph Edmond |title=A Complete English-Latin Dictionary, for the Use of Colleges and Schools |publisher=Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, Paternoster-Row; and John Murray, Albemarle Street |year=1838 |location=London |pages=193}}</ref> True moles are found in most parts of North America, Europe (except for [[Ireland]]) and Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~campbelk/moledistribution.html |access-date=11 March 2010 |title=Mole Distribution Maps |author=Campbell, Kevin |publisher=University of Manitoba |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324174320/http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~campbelk/moledistribution.html |archive-date=24 March 2010}}</ref> Other mammals referred to as moles include the African [[Golden mole|golden moles]] and the Australian [[Marsupial mole|marsupial moles]], which have a similar ecology and lifestyle to true moles but are unrelated. 

Moles may be viewed as pests to gardeners, but they provide positive contributions to soil, gardens, and ecosystems, including soil aeration, feeding on slugs and small creatures that eat plant roots, and providing prey for other wildlife. They eat earthworms and other small invertebrates in the soil.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Arlton|first=A.V.|date=1936|title=An Ecological Study of the Mole.|journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]]|jstor=1374401|volume=17|issue=4|pages=349–371|doi=10.2307/1374401}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Streitberger |first=Merle |url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn=1125129360 |title=Ants and Moles as Ecosystem Engineers: The Role of Small-scale Disturbance for Biodiversity in Central European Grasslands |year=2016 |location=Osnabrück}}</ref>

==Terminology==
In [[Middle English]], moles were known as ''moldwarps''. {{efn|"Thus was the great mountain turned scant to a little molehill" - the expression "[[a mountain out of a molehill]]" is found in (pub. 1626) ''The mirrour of vertue in worldly greatnes; or the life of Syr [[Thomas More|T. More.]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roper|first1=William|author-link1=William Roper  |orig-year=1626|chapter=p.61|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofsirthomas00rope/page/60/mode/2up?q=molehill|location=|editor-last1=Singer|editor-first1=S.W. |edition=The life of Sir Thomas More by his son-in-law William Roper, Esq. |title=The mirrour of vertue in worldly greatnes; or the life of Syr T. More.|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofsirthomas00rope|publication-place=London|publisher=press of C. Whittingham|publication-date=1822|access-date=23 January 2017 }}</ref>}} By the era of [[Early Modern English]], the mole was also known in English as ''mouldywarp'' or ''mouldiwarp'',{{efn|Also ''Mouldwarp'', ''Moldiwarp'', ''Moldywarp''.}} a word having [[cognates]] in other [[Germanic languages]] such as [[German language|German]] (''Maulwurf''),<ref>[[Rackham, Oliver]], ''The Illustrated History of the Countryside'' page 130 (quoting J. Seddon, ''The boke of surveying and improvments<!--sic-->'' – {{sic}}) {{ISBN|0-297-84335-4}}</ref> and [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Swedish Language|Swedish]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] (''muldvarp'', ''moldvarp'', ''mullvad'', ''moldvarpa''), where ''muld/mull/mold'' refers to soil and ''varp/vad/varpa'' refers to throwing, hence "one who throws soil" or "dirt-tosser".

Male moles are called "boars"; females are called "sows".

==Characteristics==

===Underground breathing===
Moles have been found to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide than other mammals, because their blood cells have a special form of [[hemoglobin]] that has a higher [[Ligand (biochemistry)#Receptor/ligand binding affinity|affinity]] to [[oxygen]] than other forms. In addition, moles use oxygen more effectively by reusing the exhaled air, and can survive in low-oxygen environments such as burrows.<ref>{{cite news
 | title = Secret of how moles breathe underground revealed
 | newspaper = The Telegraph | date = 20 July 2010
 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7899216/Secret-of-how-moles-breathe-underground-revealed.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723133025/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7899216/Secret-of-how-moles-breathe-underground-revealed.html |archive-date=23 July 2010 |access-date=19 August 2016
}}</ref>

===Extra thumbs===
[[File:Talpa europaea MHNT pate.jpg|thumb|Mole [[paw]]]]
Moles have [[polydactyl]] forepaws: each has an extra thumb (also known as a prepollex) next to the regular [[thumb]]. While the mole's other digits have multiple joints, the prepollex has a single, sickle-shaped bone that develops later and differently from the other fingers during [[embryogenesis]] from a transformed [[sesamoid bone]] in the [[wrist]], independently evolved but similar to the [[giant panda]] thumb. This supernumerary digit is species-specific, as it is not present in [[shrew]]s, the mole's closest relatives. [[Androgenic steroid]]s are known to affect the growth and formation of bones, and a connection is possible between this species-specific trait and the male genital apparatus in female moles of many mole species ([[gonad]]s with testicular and ovary tissues).<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = How the mole got its twelve fingers
 |publisher   = University of Zurich
 |date        = 12 July 2011
 |url         = http://www.mediadesk.uzh.ch/articles/2011/maulwurf_en.html
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723164207/http://www.mediadesk.uzh.ch/articles/2011/maulwurf_en.html
 |archive-date = 23 July 2011
 |access-date = 17 July 2011
}}</ref>

== Diet ==
Moles are [[omnivore]]s, but their diet primarily consists of [[earthworm]]s and other small invertebrates found in the soil. The mole runs are in reality "worm traps", the mole sensing when a worm falls into the tunnel and quickly running along to kill and eat it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pest-management.co.uk/Moles.htm |title=Moles |publisher=Pest-management.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501122336/http://www.pest-management.co.uk/Moles.htm |archive-date=1 May 2009 |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> Because their saliva contains a [[biotoxin|toxin]] that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still-living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground "[[larders]]" for just this purpose; researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them. Before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worm's gut.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Attenborough |first1=David |title=The life of mammals |date=2002 |publisher=BBC |location=London |isbn=0563534230|page=44|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofmammals0000atte/page/44/mode/2up}}</ref>

The [[star-nosed mole]] can detect, catch and eat food faster than the human eye can follow.<ref>{{cite web | last = Salisbury | first = David F. | title = Marsh-dwelling mole gives new meaning to the term 'fast food' | publisher = EurekAlert | date = 2 February 2005 | url = http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/vu-mmg013105.php | url-status = dead | access-date = 19 August 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160816231156/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/vu-mmg013105.php | archive-date = 16 August 2016 }}</ref>

==Breeding==
Breeding season for a mole depends on species, but is generally from February through May. Males search for females by letting out high-pitched squeals and tunneling through foreign areas.

The gestation period of the Eastern (North America) mole (''Scalopus aquaticus'') is approximately 42 days. Three to five young are born, mainly in March and early April.<ref name=icwdm_handbook>{{cite web |url=http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/moles.asp |title=Moles their biology and control |publisher=Icwdm.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927225130/http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/moles.asp |archive-date=27 September 2013|access-date=12 July 2013 }}</ref> [[Townsend's mole]]s mate in February and March, and the 2–4 young are born in March and April after a gestation period of about 1 month.<ref>[https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentVersionID=18061 ''Scapanus townsendii''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713023751/https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentVersionID=18061 |date=13 July 2013 }}. California Department of Fish and Game</ref>

==Social structure==
Moles are allegedly solitary creatures, coming together only to mate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Living with wildlife: Moles {{!}} Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/moles |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=wdfw.wa.gov |language=en}}</ref> Territories may overlap, but moles avoid each other and males may fight fiercely if they meet.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowalski |first=Kazimierz |title=Mammals: An Outline of Thierology (Ssaki. Zarys teriologii) |publisher=Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |year=1976 |edition= |pages=321 |language=en}}</ref>

==Classification==
[[File:Uropsilus1sm.jpg|thumb|''[[Uropsilus]]'']]
[[File:Scapanus latimanus2.jpg|thumb|[[Northern broad-footed mole]]]]
{{further|List of talpids}}
The family [[Talpidae]] contains all the true moles and some of their close relatives. Those species called "[[shrew mole]]s" represent an intermediate form between the moles and their [[shrew]] ancestors, and as such may not be fully described by the article.

Moles were traditionally classified in the order [[Insectivora]], but that order has since been abandoned because it has been shown to not be [[monophyletic]]. Moles are now classified with [[shrew]]s and [[hedgehog]]s, in the more narrowly defined order [[Eulipotyphla]].<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Mouchaty | first1 = Suzette K.
 | last2 = Gullberg | first2 = Anette
 | last3 = Janke | first3 = Axel
 | last4 = Arnason | first4 = Ulfur
 | title = The Phylogenetic Position of the Talpidae Within Eutheria Based on Analysis of Complete Mitochondrial Sequences
 | journal = Mol Biol Evol | year = 2000 | volume = 17 | issue= 1 | pages = 60–67
 | pmid = 10666706
 | doi = 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026238
| doi-access = free}}</ref>

* Subfamily [[Scalopinae]]: New World moles
** Tribe [[Condylurini]]: Star-nosed mole (North America)
*** Genus ''[[Condylura]]'': Star-nosed mole (the sole species)
** Tribe [[Scalopini]]: New World moles
*** Genus ''[[Alpiscaptulus]]'': Medog mole (China)
***Genus ''[[Parascalops]]'': Hairy-tailed mole (northeastern North America)
*** Genus ''[[Scalopus]]'': Eastern mole (North America)
*** Genus ''[[Scapanulus]]'': Gansu mole (China)
*** Genus ''[[Scapanus]]'': Western North American moles (five species)
* Subfamily [[Talpinae]]: Old World moles, desmans, and shrew moles
**Tribe [[Desmanini]]
***Genus ''[[Desmana]]:'' [[Russian desman]]
***Genus ''[[Galemys]]:'' [[Pyrenean desman]]
**Tribe [[Talpini]]: Old World moles
*** Genus ''[[Euroscaptor]]'': Ten Asian species
*** Genus ''[[Mogera]]'': Nine species from Japan, Korea, and eastern China
*** Genus ''[[Parascaptor]]'': [[White-tailed mole]], southern Asia
*** Genus ''[[Scaptochirus]]'': [[Short-faced mole]], China
*** Genus ''[[Talpa (genus)|Talpa]]'': Thirteen species, Europe and western Asia
** Tribe [[Scaptonychini]]: Long-tailed mole
*** Genus ''[[Scaptonyx]]'': Long-tailed mole (China and Myanmar (Burma))
** Tribe [[Urotrichini]]: Japanese shrew moles
*** Genus ''[[Dymecodon]]'': True's shrew mole
*** Genus ''[[Urotrichus]]'': Japanese shrew mole
** Tribe [[Neurotrichini]]: New World shrew moles
*** Genus ''[[Neurotrichus]]'': American shrew mole (US Pacific Northwest, southwest British Columbia)
* Subfamily [[Uropsilinae]]: Asian shrew moles
** Genus ''[[Uropsilus]]'': Five species in China, Bhutan, and Myanmar (Burma)

==Other "moles"==
Many groups of burrowing animals ([[pink fairy armadillo]]s, [[tuco-tuco]]s, [[mole rat]]s, [[mole cricket]]s, [[Tridactyloidea|pygmy mole crickets]], and [[mole crabs]]) have independently developed close physical similarities with moles due to [[convergent evolution]]; two of these are so similar to true moles, they are commonly called and thought of as "moles" in common English, although they are completely unrelated to true moles or to each other. These are the [[golden mole]]s of southern Africa and the [[marsupial mole]]s of Australia. While difficult to distinguish from each other, they are most easily distinguished from true moles by shovel-like patches on their noses, which they use in tandem with their abbreviated forepaws to swim through sandy soils.

===Golden moles===
The golden moles belong to the same branch on the [[phylogenetic tree]] as the [[tenrec]]s, called [[Tenrecomorpha]], which, in turn, stem from a main branch of [[placental]] mammals called the [[Afrosoricida]]. This means that they share a closer common ancestor with such existing afrosoricids as [[elephant]]s, [[manatee]]s and [[aardvark]]s than they do with other placental mammals, such as true Talpidae moles.

* '''ORDER [[Afrosoricida|AFROSORICIDA]]'''
** Suborder [[Tenrecomorpha]]
*** Family [[Tenrecidae]]: tenrecs, 34 species in 10 genera
** '''Suborder Chrysochloridea'''
*** '''Family Chrysochloridae'''
**** Subfamily [[Chrysochlorinae]]
***** Genus ''[[Carpitalpa]]''
****** [[Arends' golden mole]] (''Carpitalpa arendsi'')
***** Genus ''[[Chlorotalpa]]''
****** [[Duthie's golden mole]] (''Chlorotalpa duthieae'')
****** [[Sclater's golden mole]] (''Chlorotalpa sclateri'')
***** Genus ''[[Chrysochloris]]''
****** Subgenus ''Chrysochloris''
******* [[Cape golden mole]] (''Chrysochloris asiatica'')
******* [[Visagie's golden mole]] (''Chrysochloris visagiei'')
****** Subgenus ''Kilimatalpa''
******* [[Stuhlmann's golden mole]] (''Chrysochloris stuhlmanni'')
***** Genus ''[[Chrysospalax]]''
****** [[Giant golden mole]] (''Chrysospalax trevelyani'')
****** [[Rough-haired golden mole]] (''Chrysospalax villosus'')
***** Genus ''[[Cryptochloris]]''
****** [[De Winton's golden mole]] (''Cryptochloris wintoni'')
****** [[Van Zyl's golden mole]] (''Cryptochloris zyli'')
***** Genus ''[[Eremitalpa]]''
****** [[Grant's golden mole]] (''Eremitalpa granti'')
**** Subfamily [[Amblysominae]]
***** Genus ''[[Amblysomus]]''
****** [[Fynbos golden mole]] (''Amblysomus corriae'')
****** [[Hottentot golden mole]] (''Amblysomus hottentotus'')
****** [[Marley's golden mole]] (''Amblysomus marleyi'')
****** [[Robust golden mole]] (''Amblysomus robustus'')
****** [[Highveld golden mole]] (''Amblysomus septentrionalis'')
***** Genus ''[[Calcochloris]]''
****** Subgenus ''Huetia''
******* [[Congo golden mole]] (''Calcochloris leucorhinus'')
****** Subgenus ''Calcochloris''
******* [[Yellow golden mole]] (''Calcochloris obtusirostris'')
****** Subgenus ''[[incertae sedis]]''
******* [[Somali golden mole]] (''Calcochloris tytonis'')
***** Genus ''[[Neamblysomus]]''
****** [[Juliana's golden mole]] (''Neamblysomus julianae'')
****** [[Gunning's golden mole]] (''Neamblysomus gunningi'')

===Marsupial moles===
[[File:Kret workowaty.jpg|thumb|A [[marsupial mole]]]]
As marsupials, these moles are even more distantly related to true talpid moles than golden moles are, both of which belong to the [[Eutheria]], or placental mammals. This means that they are more closely related to such existing Australian marsupials as [[kangaroo]]s or [[koala]]s, and even to a lesser extent to American marsupials, such as [[opossum]]s, than they are to placental mammals, such as golden or Talpidae moles.

'''Class Mammalia'''
*'''Subclass [[Prototheria]]''': monotremes ([[echidna]]s and the [[platypus]])
*'''Subclass Theriiformes''': live-bearing mammals and their prehistoric relatives
**Infraclass [[Holotheria]]: modern live-bearing mammals and their prehistoric relatives
***Supercohort [[Theria]]: live-bearing mammals
****Cohort [[Marsupialia]]: marsupials
*****Magnorder [[Ameridelphia]]: New World marsupials
****** Order [[Didelphimorphia]] (opossums)
****** Order [[Paucituberculata]] (shrew opossums)
*****Superorder [[Australidelphia]] Australian marsupials
****** Order [[Dasyuromorphia]] (the Tasmanian devil, the numbat, thylacines, quolls, dunnarts and others)
****** Order [[Peramelemorphia]] (bilbies, bandicoots and rainforest bandicoots)
****** Order [[Diprotodontia]] (koalas, wombats, diprotodonts, possums, cuscuses, sugar gliders, kangaroos and others)
****** Order [[Notoryctemorphia]] (marsupial moles and closely related extinct families of marsupials)
******* Family [[Notoryctidae]] (living and extinct marsupial mole genera)
******** Genus [[Notoryctes]] (only genus of marsupial moles with living species)
********* Species ''[[Notoryctes typhlops]]'' (southern marsupial mole)
********* Species ''[[Notoryctes caurinus]]'' (northern marsupial mole)

==Interaction with humans==

===Pelts===
[[File:Debenham and Freebody ad 1921 1 ISaDN.jpg|thumb|Advertisement in ''[[Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News]]'', 1921]]
Moles' pelts have a velvety texture not found in surface animals. Surface-dwelling animals tend to have longer fur with a natural tendency for the [[nap (textile)|nap]] to lie in a particular direction, but to facilitate their burrowing lifestyle, mole pelts are short and very dense and have no particular direction to the nap. This makes it easy for moles to move backwards underground, as their fur is not "brushed the wrong way". The leather is extremely soft and supple. [[Queen Alexandra]], the wife of [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom]], ordered a mole-fur garment to start a fashion that would create a demand for mole fur, thereby turning what had been a serious pest problem in [[Scotland]] into a lucrative industry for the country. Hundreds of pelts are cut into rectangles and sewn together to make a coat. The natural color is [[taupe]], (derived from the French noun ''taupe'' meaning mole) but it is readily dyed any color.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.furcommission.com/Biology/furtypes.html#anchor625647 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721235302/http://www.furcommission.com/Biology/furtypes.html#anchor625647 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |title=Furs types in brief |publisher=furcommission.com}}</ref>

The term "[[moleskin]]" for a tough cotton fabric is in common use today.

===Pest status: extermination and humane options===
[[File:Krtek1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Molehill]]s in eastern Bohemia]]
Moles are considered agricultural [[Pest (organism)|pests]] in some countries, while in others, such as [[Germany]], they are a [[protected species]], but may be killed with a [[Hunting license|permit]]. Problems cited as caused by moles include contamination of [[silage]] with soil particles, making it unpalatable to [[livestock]], the covering of pasture with fresh soil reducing its size and yield, damage to agricultural machinery by the exposure of stones, damage to young plants through disturbance of the soil, weed invasion of pasture through exposure of freshly tilled soil, and damage to drainage systems and watercourses. Other species such as [[weasel]]s and [[vole]]s may use mole tunnels to gain access to enclosed areas or plant roots.

Moles burrow and raise [[molehill]]s, killing parts of [[lawns]]. They can undermine plant roots, indirectly causing damage or death. Moles do not eat plant roots.<ref name="extermine">{{cite web
 |title       = How to get rid of moles
 |publisher   = Extermine.com
 |year        = 2004
 |url         = http://www.extermine.com/moles.html
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120426031130/http://www.extermine.com/moles.html
 |archive-date = 26 April 2012
 |access-date = 17 July 2011
}}</ref>

[[File:Op scherp staande mollenklem.jpg|thumb|A [[mole trap]]]]
Moles are controlled with traps such as mole-catchers, smoke bombs, and poisons such as [[calcium carbide]], which produces [[acetylene]] gas to drive moles away. [[Strychnine]] was also used for this purpose in the past. The most common method now is Phostoxin or Talunex tablets. They contain [[aluminium phosphide]] and are inserted in the mole tunnels, where they turn into [[phosphine]] gas (not be confused with [[phosgene]] gas). More recently, high-grade [[nitrogen]] gas has proven effective at killing moles, with the added advantage of having no polluting effect to the environment.<ref name="extermine"/>
[[File:Dead moles on display hung on a fence.jpg|thumb|Dead moles traditionally hung on a fence after being caught.]]

Other common defensive measures include cat litter and [[blood meal]], to repel the mole, or smoking its burrow. Devices are also sold to trap the mole in its burrow, when one sees the "mole hill" moving and therefore knows where the animal is, and then stabbing it.

Other humane options are also possible including humane traps that capture the mole alive so it may be transported elsewhere.<ref name="extermine"/> In many contexts including ordinary gardens, the damage caused by moles to lawns is mostly visual, and it is possible instead of extermination to simply remove the earth of the molehills as they appear, leaving their permanent galleries for the moles to continue their existence underground.<ref name="extermine"/> However, when the tunnels are near the surface in soft ground or after heavy rain, they may collapse, leaving (small) unsightly furrows in the lawn.

===Meat===
[[William Buckland]], known for eating every animal he could, opined that mole meat tasted vile.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why we need eccentricity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/01/eccentricity-einstein-prince-society |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=1 April 2010 |access-date=13 May 2010 |first=Martin |last=Howard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324015105/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/01/eccentricity-einstein-prince-society |archive-date=24 March 2014}}</ref>

=== Archaeology ===
Moles can inadvertently [[disturbance (archaeology)|help archaeologists]] by bringing small artifacts to the surface through their digging. By examining [[molehill]]s for [[sherds]] and other small objects, archaeologists can find evidence of human habitation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-05-03 |title=Moles take up Roman archaeology |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-22363936 |access-date=2023-01-16}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Molecatcher]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040722192952/http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/reports/mole-review.pdf UK Government DEFRA paper on control the European mole]
* [http://www.britishmolecatchers.co.uk British Traditional Molecatchers Register]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q104825}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Agricultural pests]]
[[Category:Body plans]]
[[Category:Mammal common names]]
[[Category:Talpidae| ]]