What is the maximal age a Townsend’s mole reaches?
An adult Townsend’s mole (Scapanus townsendii) usually gets as old as 1.5 years.
Townsend’s moles are around 23 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 3 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 4 cm (0′ 2″). As a member of the Talpidae family (genus: Scapanus), a Townsend’s mole caries out around 1 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 1 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 8.7 cm (0′ 4″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The Townsend’s mole (Scapanus townsendii) is a fossorial mammal in the family Talpidae, and is the largest North American mole.It is found in open lowland and wooded areas with moist soils along the Pacific coast from southwestern British Columbia to northwestern California. This animal’s total range in Canada is estimated to be 20 km² (7.7 sq mi). Townsend’s mole is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN; however, in Canada it is considered an endangered species.This animal has velvety black fur, a pointed snout and a short, thick, a tail with barely any hair. It is about 21 cm (8.3 in) in length including a 4 cm (1.6 in) tail, and weighs about 138 grams (4.9 oz). Its front paws are broad and spade-shaped, specialized for digging; the rear paws are smaller. It has 44 teeth. Its ears are not visible and it has small eyes. It is similar in appearance to the smaller coast mole.This mole spends most of its time underground, foraging in shallow burrows for earthworms, small invertebrates and plant material. It is active year-round.This animal is mainly solitary except during mating in late winter. The female has a litter of two to four young in a deep burrow.This animal was named after the American naturalist John Kirk Townsend. The name was selected at the request of Thomas Nuttall as a patronym to honor Townsend’s contribution.
Animals of the same family as a Townsend’s mole
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Talpidae):
- Coast mole becoming 3 years old
- European mole becoming 7 years old
- True’s shrew mole with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Small Japanese mole becoming 3.5 years old
- Kloss’s mole with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Gansu mole getting as big as 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Russian desman with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Père David’s mole with 3 babies per pregnancy
- True’s shrew mole with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Chinese shrew mole bringing the scale to 16 grams
Animals that reach the same age as Townsend’s mole
With an average age of 1.5 years, Townsend’s mole are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Common yellow-toothed cavy usually reaching 1.75 years
- Atlantic bamboo rat usually reaching 1.58 years
- Creeping vole usually reaching 1.25 years
- Southern red-backed vole usually reaching 1.67 years
- Southern marsupial mole usually reaching 1.5 years
- Arctic shrew usually reaching 1.5 years
- Ornate shrew usually reaching 1.42 years
- Himalayan mole usually reaching 1.5 years
- Southern red-backed vole usually reaching 1.67 years
- Long-clawed shrew usually reaching 1.5 years
Animals with the same number of babies Townsend’s mole
The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:
- Melanomys caliginosus
- Least horseshoe bat
- Olive baboon
- Tickell’s bat
- Dryas monkey
- Southeastern myotis
- Arabian oryx
- Northern brushtail possum
- Sulawesi rousette
- Homo sapiens
Weighting as much as Townsend’s mole
A fully grown Townsend’s mole reaches around 70 grams (0.15 lbs). So do these animals:
- Arctic lemming with 78 grams
- Prince Demidoff’s bushbaby with 66 grams
- Abyssinian grass rat with 73 grams
- Northern red-sided opossum with 79 grams
- Jaliscan spiny pocket mouse with 65 grams
- San Quintin kangaroo rat with 84 grams
- Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat with 66 grams
- Leschenault’s rousette with 84 grams
- Whitehead’s spiny rat with 57 grams
- Fringed fruit-eating bat with 63 grams
Animals as big as a Townsend’s mole
Those animals grow as big as a Townsend’s mole:
- New Guinean planigale with 7.7 cm (0′ 4″)
- San Joaquin pocket mouse with 7.2 cm (0′ 3″)
- Western mouse with 10.2 cm (0′ 5″)
- Crowned shrew with 7.2 cm (0′ 3″)
- Chinese dormouse with 9.1 cm (0′ 4″)
- Ammodile with 9.5 cm (0′ 4″)
- Goodwin’s broad-clawed shrew with 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Malayan water shrew with 10.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Yellow-necked mouse with 10.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Big Mexican small-eared shrew with 8.4 cm (0′ 4″)