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.

From New York Times

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.”

From Washington Post

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.

From Washington Times

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

From Literature

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

From New York Times