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Talpa europaea
Dead mole found in a small water course. The mole has a cylindrical body and is around 12 cm long. Females are typically smaller than males. The eyes are small and hidden behind fur, while the ears are just small ridges in the skin. The fur is usually dark grey, but the actual range of colours is larger, as due to the subterranean habits there is no disadvantage in having off-coloured fur. European moles with white, light grey, tan, taupe, and black fur have all been reported. The mole lives in an underground tunnel system, which it constantly extends. It uses these tunnels to hunt its prey. Under normal conditions the displaced earth is pushed to the surface, resulting in the characteristic molehills. It feeds mainly on earthworms, but also on insects, centipedes and even mice and shrews. Its saliva contains toxins which paralyze earthworms in particular.
Small water stream in high mountain (1600 m.) Pine tree forest (Pinus sylvestris). Parque Nacional de Sierra de Guadarrama
Spotted on Jun 5, 2013
Submitted on Sep 30, 2013
2 Comments
I guess they do not like the worm twisting through the throat. It could provoke an attack of retching.
Fascinating Arlanda. Why would you need to paralyze an earthworm? To stop it from biting back? :-)