The coast mole or Pacific mole (Scapanus orarius) is a medium-sized North American mole found in forested and open areas with moist soils along the Pacific coast from southwestern British Columbia to northwestern California.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized: the nominate, S. o. orarius, and Scheffer's coast mole, S. o. schefferi. The nominate has a shorter skull and less enlarged maxillary region. The patterns of teeth shearing on dirt and earthworms (their main diet) set both subspecies apart from similar species.
Description
The coast mole is generally less than 200 mm long, with the tail being one-fourth of its total length. The fur is uniformly black. The skull is relatively narrow and long, with a sublacrimal-maxillary ridge that is underdeveloped. Teeth are uncrowned and evenly spaced.
Distribution and habitat
The coast mole has a disjunct distribution, occurring from the western end of British Columbia, Canada through the western regions of Oregon and Washington, and in some parts of Northern California (coastal regions). The most extreme divergence of range for the coast mole has been seen to reach some parts of west-central Idaho. The species has a primarily fossorial lifestyle, but is not restricted solely to underground habitats. Like many other species of moles, it is capable of surfacing for scavenging purposes and juvenile dispersals, especially in the summer months. It may inhabit, but is not restricted to, agricultural land, sand dunes, grassy-meadows, sagebrush, deciduous forest, and pine forests (yellow-pine, Douglas fir, spruce, hemlock, and redwood).
Air supply in coast mole tunnels may be short on oxygen, but enriched with carbon dioxide from respiration. One adaptation to these environmental challenges is an increased blood volume for oxygen storage. Another is a modified hemoglobin, found in the coast mole and the eastern mole, that allows for heightened Cl- ion binding activity that is not affected by the relatively cold temperatures of mole tunnels.
Conservation
The species has been classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, since it appears to be common in a wide variety of habitats throughout its range.