The Star-nosed Mole ( the only member of family: Condylurini; genus: Condylura)

The “Star-nosed Mole”, a type of water shrew is a small mole native to North-eastern United States.  It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. It digs shallow surface tunnels, which exit underwater. It remains active day and night in all seasons even in winters. The star-nosed mole has been observed tunneling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams.  Like other water shrews, the star-nosed mole can follow underwater scents by rapidly blowing and inhaling bubbles according to new research.
The Star-nosed Mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.The incredibly sensitive nasal tentacles are covered with almost one hundred thousand minute touch receptors called Eimer’s organs in the scientific term.
The star of nasal tentacles is formed in a unique way so far not seen in any other animal of the world. Instead of growing in the same way fingers grow outward on a hand, they start as swellings on the face around the nose, and some days after birth they break free and move forward as is observed in the peeling of banana. The Star-nosed Mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically 4 or 5 young in early summer. The common predators threatening star-mole existance include: skunks, owl, hawk, mustelids and large fish under water.