A most Interestingly shaped nose

Star-nosed moles have a very distinctive feature, a circle of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of their snouts. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.

The extremely sensitive star-like structure is covered with roughly 25,000 minute touch receptors known as Eimer's organs. Other mole species also possess Eimer's organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the star-nosed mole. The 22 appendages are extremely sensitive to touch and to electrical impulses and allow the moles to find and identify their invertebrate prey without using sight, they can locate and devour their prey in just 230 milliseconds. his multifunctional 'star' is also used to keep soil and food from entering the nose.

These moles are also able to smell underwater, accomplished by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.

Star-nosed moles also have shovel-like feet that are extremely large in comparison to their size. This adaptation allows them to dig their tunnels more quickly and effectively. They can excavate roughly 7 to 8 feet of soil in an hour. The further they travel underground, the more food they're likely to come across. These large feet also help them when it comes to swimming, as they act much like paddles.