Star-Nosed Mole
(Condylura cristata)

Found in the wet lowlands of eastern North America, the Star-Nosed Mole has the most extraordinary nose in the animal kingdom — 22 pink, fleshy tentacles arranged in a star pattern around its nostrils, containing over 25,000 minute sensory receptors called Eimer's organs. It is functionally blind but this remarkable nose makes it the fastest known forager of any mammal — it can identify and consume a food item in as little as 120 milliseconds, faster than the human eye can follow!