Question: whats your favourite animal?

Ian Wilson answered on 28 Jun 2013:

Hi iputhecityonmyback,

I love the weird ones – have you heard of the Star Nosed Mole?
Check him out:

He looks like his face exploded!!! So the question you have to ask is what purpose does it serve? It actually serves a few:

The first function is the most boring and that’s that it keeps soil and food from getting into the mole’s nose.
So, when burrowing or eating, the tentacles are held forward over the nostrils to prevent soil or food from entering the nose.

But things get interesting when you look at these tentacles coming out from the centre. It’s got 22 of them, which are really sensitive to touch and electrical impulses.

That’s because each of the tentacles is covered in tiny little bumps called ‘Eimer’s Organs’. Each of the organs has 3 touch receptors, only 2 of which are found in the skin of other mammals. The 3rd one is only found in the Starnosed Mole. Because it’s nose is so sensitive, it allows the mole to find and identify prey despite being blind.

It can touch up to 12 objects per second with those tentacles – videos of it moving are weird! But, despite looking incredibly ridiculous, Evolution has actually really helped the Star-nosed Mole thrive as it’s touch is as good as being able to see.

I think that’s a pretty incredible and freaky animal so it definitely gets my vote! What’s your favourite?

Cheers,

Ian