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Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.

To emphasize the sensitivity of the snout of the star-nosed mole, Higgins says, “Imagine having six times the sensitivity of your entire hand concentrated in a single fingertip.”

The Condylura cristata - the scientific name for a star-nosed mole - can identify its food as edible, capture it and eat it in an average of 230 milliseconds, Catania discovered.

At one point she looks up at me like I’ve turned into a star-nosed mole and then goes back to it.

Most of the rest were characterized as cathemeral like the star-nosed mole, the European rabbit and the muskrat.