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creating air bubbles by pushing air out of their nostrils, and then inhaling the air bubbles. He was intrigued. Were the moles smelling underwater?

The biologist decided to do an experiment to test whether the star-nosed mole could follow a scent trail underwater. He smeared earthworm across a sheet of Plexiglas and placed it in the bottom of a water tank. Then he covered the Plexiglas with a wire mesh to prevent the mole from using its' nasal tentacles to touch the trail. On average, the five star-nosed moles he used followed the underwater scent trail with 85% accuracy.

To verify his findings, Catania replaced the wire mesh with one that had openings too small to allow air bubbles to pass through. After this was done, the moles were no longer able to follow the scent trail confirming that the moles had indeed smelled underwater. These findings show that the assumption that olfaction (the sense of smell) is useless underwater is incorrect, and raise the possibility that other aquatic mammals may also have the ability to smell underwater.

From their unusual appearance, to their groundbreaking survival skills, it must be said that the star-nosed mole is not only one of the strangest the strange, but truly unique and captivating in so many ways.

Learn more about this author, Ashley Nuckles.
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