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Do moles have eyes?

category: general [glöplog]
Mole is the national dish of Mexico.
added on the 2003-06-15 09:15:36 by halyCON halyCON
<stefan_> DON'T MEANTION THE MOLES
added on the 2003-06-15 13:26:51 by dalezr dalezr
do moles HATE eyes?
added on the 2003-06-15 15:10:37 by lithis lithis
at least they go to heaven, as proven by this illustration:

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added on the 2003-06-16 06:30:05 by GltTcH GltTcH

Some people even write books involving moles:

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added on the 2003-06-16 08:34:39 by {OdS} {OdS}
rumors say, moles do luv tatu
added on the 2003-06-16 10:10:49 by delta delta
This is the only mole that is worth anything, and it has eyes, so moles do have eyes:

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Q.E.D.
added on the 2003-06-17 01:12:11 by Jcl Jcl
ho hum... see the pic
added on the 2003-06-17 01:13:23 by Jcl Jcl
wtf... first pic here (grr)
added on the 2003-06-17 01:14:30 by Jcl Jcl
We've got to keep posting, otherwise the most interesting topic on pouet ever will die.
added on the 2003-06-17 14:09:37 by {OdS} {OdS}
I agree. It has been a very educational topic too. There still looks like people are undecided about moles having eyes but we have also learned a lot of other things about moles too. It is my ambition to meet a real living mole but I dont know where to look for them.

Also does anyone know how Monty Mole got in trouble with the police? He was always being chased but what did he do that was so wrong?
added on the 2003-06-17 15:48:09 by Tongue Tongue
Some more facts about moles but beware of their evil anti-mole propaganda. People like this make me sick!

http://www.molepro.com/info/dr_mole.htm

added on the 2003-06-17 15:55:35 by Tongue Tongue
Send all hate mail to...

info@molepro.com
added on the 2003-06-17 15:57:20 by Tongue Tongue
http://www.molepro.com/info/dr_mole.htm...

mmh, oh yeah, uh, well yes, ahah... now i know that i was an ignorant. i see the light now. mole is life. pray the mole. !!MOLE POWA!!
added on the 2003-06-17 16:07:18 by {OdS} {OdS}

Common Myths
"Moles are rodents"
Moles are actually insectivores, not rodents. They are from the same family as the anteater.

"Moles are blind"
Moles have extremely tiny eyes that are basically a thin membrane behind their snout. These "eyes" allow them only to sense light and little else.

"Moles are territorial and live alone"
This one is partially true. Moles generally do not get along with one another. In fact, they will often fight to the death if another mole infringes upon their territory (obviously this is not true during mating season).

We have had mixed experiences on this matter. In many cases, we have found one mole doing a significant amount of damage. Upon trapping it, the activity dies down and there is no more activity. In other situations, we have caught up to 12 moles in a 10-foot square area within 3 weeks.

Having researched this matter further, we agree with the observations made by Donald and Lillian Stokes in their book, Animal Tracking and Behavior 1986:

"Moles are believed to remain solitary as adults and avoid contact with other moles. However, there are at least two exceptions. One occurs in the spring, when the males start to move around and leave their range in search of females. They may move about for several weeks, even after all the females in an area have mated. The other exception is that occasionally some tunnels are used by several moles; these tunnels are, in a sense, like highways. This communal use suggests that the social system of moles is more complex than we think."

"Moles eat 2 – 3 times their body weight per day"
This claim is greatly exaggerated. Most lab and field tests will show that while moles do have a voracious appetite, they only eat up to 70 – 100% of their body weight each day.

"Moles are eating my plant bulbs and roots"
Moles are almost entirely carnivorous; however, it is true that moles can indirectly kill plants. They do this in two ways:

The tunnels created by moles will often be used by other small animals. Voles, in particular, will travel in these tunnels and eat away at roots and tubers.
A good location for grubs and worms is among the roots of a hedge, flower, or other type of plant. The mole will scrape the dirt away from the roots in search of food, thereby removing the plants’ source of nourishment.
"Moles are nocturnal (active only during the night)"
This misconception is usually the result of people looking out their window in the morning and seeing fresh mole hills. In fact, moles are not necessarily more or less active at any time during the day or night. Current research suggests that moles sleep and work in 4-hour shifts. They are more active during quiet periods, such as early morning or late in the evening. When they feel vibrations in the ground, as created from people or pets walking, they will be more likely to cease their digging.
added on the 2003-06-17 16:14:12 by Tongue Tongue
the mole president
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well known in cz scene (i think ;-)
added on the 2003-06-17 16:15:15 by freed_ohm freed_ohm
Well. Now, we know that a mole has etremely tiny eyses. Recent researches show what a mole sees if you show it an A0-format picture at a distance of 25 cm:

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How damned astounding, isn't it?
added on the 2003-06-17 16:39:16 by {OdS} {OdS}
freed_0hM, yEEEEAHHH!!! "jak krtek ke kalhotkám prsel".... or "kak krot shtanishki razdobyl" as i know it...
i had that book (translated to russian) when i was a child.. lovely illustrations.
added on the 2003-06-17 19:40:14 by dipswitch dipswitch
Another mole fact: One mole contains 6.02257 × 10²³ molecules.
Is Penfold from Dangermouse a mole? He wears glasses so I reckon he is.

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Does anyone else think Peter Harrap (the maker of Monty Mole) based Monty on himself? Just look at the pic above. They're identical!
Most people are familiar with the distinctive heaps of soil associated with moles. Molehills are so easy to recognise that the species' distribution is better known than any other British mammal. They are widely distributed in the British Isles, but are absent from Ireland, the Hebrides, Orkney and the Shetland Isles.

MOLE FEATURES
The mole is a 15 centimetre long, cylindrical creature with a head that is joined directly to the body, without a neck. The mole has large broad front paws, like spades, and short rectangular arms. These ensure that the mole has powerful leverage in its forearms, effectively making the mole incredibly strong for its size and able to scoop earth very efficiently. The slender hind legs are used to propel the mole along its tunnels, and when it is digging with its front legs, they help steady it. The male weighs approximately 70 - 130g, males generally being larger than females. Its weight rests on its belly rather than on its legs, so the skin on the underside is extra thick.
Males are often said to be blind but this is incorrect. The mole has eyes and ears but they are incredibly small so they do not become filled with earth when digging. The eyes are the size of pinheads and are normally kept closed. Moles' eyesight is poor. They can see movement and tell light from dark, but cannot distinguish colours. The ears are about 5 centimetres long and hidden in the fur. There is an area of bare pink skin on the snout that is very sensitive to touch. Sensitive pimples cover the surface, detecting tiny movements, temperature change, prey and other moles through scent. The mole's long canine teeth are sharp and pierce the hard outer skeleton of insect prey. The tail is held upwards to feel its way when running backwards in tunnels. Mole fur is very fine and velvety and usually black, it can point in any direction with ease, so is specially adapted for life in tunnels.

HABITAT
Moles occur in many habitats, even when there is solid rock or only a thin layer of soil on top. However, woodland is their natural habitat where fallen leaves hide their presence. They can also be found on farmland and fields. The home range of females is about 10 - 12 metres, which is quite small. The males' range is slightly larger, and this increases considerably in the spring during the breeding season.

WHEN CAN MOLES BE SEEN?
Moles spend almost all their time underground in a damp, dark environment and so they are active at night and during the day. They spend their resting periods asleep in the nest. They do emerge from the ground occasionally, usually in long periods of dry weather, when there is a shortage of food. If you go out very early in the morning after a few weeks without rain you might be able to hear a mole tearing clumps of grass searching for food. There is also the chance of seeing one as it scurries from one feeding place to another.

FOOD
A mole's diet mainly consists of worms, however they do feed on beetles and minibeasts. Their diet can also be supplemented with baby mice that they discover when going to the surface.

THE TUNNEL SYSTEM
The tunnel systems are elaborate with deep, permanent tunnels constructed close to the nest or fortress. The large mounds of earth you will see in the country are fortresses. These are usually built above ground if the water table is high and can be 0.5 metres high and 2 metres in diameter. Small molehills in a line show where the mole has excavated deep tunnels. Shallow runs are created further from the centre of the system as the mole searches for food. Continuous lines of earth at the surface mark these and they may be so shallow that the roof collapses.

BREEDING
Moles live solitary lives and are hardly ever found occupying each other's tunnels, except for a brief period of a few hours every year when the female tolerates the male's presence. Breeding begins when the moles are one year old, in April or May. The female giving birth to 3 (or 4) young. The young are blind and naked at birth.

For further information contact Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.
added on the 2003-06-18 00:00:23 by {OdS} {OdS}
"cylindrical creature/short rectangular arms/hard outer skeleton/dark environment/THE TUNNEL SYSTEM"

All this sounds like the makings of a classic demo!
added on the 2003-06-18 13:27:47 by Tongue Tongue
freed_0hm - that's my favorite mole. i still happen to helf selfdrawn paintings of him somewhere, because i got raised watching those animations for like every 2nd day.
added on the 2003-06-18 14:29:43 by dalezr dalezr
The Avogadro Constant and The Mole

Imagine that you have exactly 12 g of carbon-12. What mass of magnesium would contain the same number of atoms? What is the value of this number?

The answer is 24 g of magnesium, since the mass of an atom of magnesium is twice that of an atom of 12C. It is not essential to know the value of this number, but it can be measured experimentally, and it is 6.023 x 1023.

By the same reasoning, there is the same number of molecules in 18 g of water as there are atoms in 12 g of carbon-12.

This extremely large number, 6.023 x 1023, is called the Avogadro constant. The mass of this number of particles (atoms, molecules, ions) of a substance is called a Mole (1 mole). The Avogadro Constant, denoted NA (or L), has units; they are particles per mol, but particles is omitted leaving mol-1 (per mole).

The relative atomic mass expressed in grams is the mass of 1 Mole of atoms of an element. This follows from the above reasoning. Even before the value of the Avogadro constant was know, chemists knew that by taking the relative atomic mass in grams of atoms of any element, they have the same number of atoms.

Element Ca Na Pb Fe Cl H He Ag
Relative Atomic Mass, Ar 40 23 207 56 35.5 1 4 108
Mass of 1 mol 40 g 23 g 207 g 56 g 35.5 g 1 g 4 g 108 g
All these masses have the same number of atoms - 6.023 x 1023 mol-1

The relative molecular mass expressed in grams is the mass of 1 Mole of molecules of an element (e.g. O2) or compound (e.g. CO2).

Element or compound CO2 SO2 N2 H2 Cl2 CH4 H2O NH3
Relative Molecular Mass, Mr 44 64 28 2 71 16 18 17
Mass of 1 mol 44 g 64 g 28 g 2 g 71 g 16 g 18 g 17 g
All these masses have the same number of molecules - 6.023 x 1023 mol-1

Sodium Chloride, NaCl, is an example of an ionic compound. It has a giant ionic lattice structure in which each ion is surrounded by six of the other type. It is not molecular.

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added on the 2003-06-18 22:01:14 by {OdS} {OdS}

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