Post #14301

Marsupial Mole: Eats monsters, has claws and swims in the sand as if it were water Just look at this wonderful mole! At his delicate silky golden fur, at his graceful clawed fingers and at the way he eats an extremely poisonous centipede! What a beauty this Australian marsupial mole is! Of course, the marsupial mole has nothing to do with real moles - it’s a marsupial! He reached this lifestyle with his own mind, and therefore is similar to his European colleagues only in appearance. But if you look at it through the lens of scientific research, the differences emerge very quickly. The most noticeable of them is the fact that it can easily hunt on the surface. Yes, the marsupial mole is blind, well... like a mole, and therefore does this infrequently. But his hearing and sense of vibration work perfectly, so the mole can burst right out of the ground and attack its prey. Just like the giant worms from the old movie Tremors! And as you can tell from the first photo, these cute creatures are capable of chewing even scolopendras - one of the most dangerous Australian invertebrates. But first of all, these are still underground predators that feed on earthworms and insect larvae. True, there were some nuances here too. Unlike real moles, Australian moles live in very dry and crumbly soils, the consistency of which is close to sand. Therefore, they cannot create a steep, extensive network of tunnels with storerooms, toilets and secret exits to the surface, which makes their life very difficult. But they learned to move underground simply amazingly. Australians don't dig as much as they swim, pushing themselves with their front paws and pushing the sand with their muzzle, which has a horny shield on its nose. Marsupial moles are the only animals that have mastered the underground breaststroke! But this method of transportation, as well as the complete absence of tunnels, incredibly infuriates researchers. After all, moles can only be discovered by chance, and it is generally impossible to observe them! Therefore, we still have many unanswered questions. We have no idea how they find each other underground, how they reproduce, and why they don’t die of thirst even in the driest regions of Australia. And finding answers to these questions will be oh so difficult. I don't envy Australian zoologists! Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot