Mammals {mole, mammal} (Phacoschoerus) (Talpidae) (Chrysochloridae) can live underground, be nocturnal, and have front digging paws. Star-nosed moles have quickly moving touch organ in front. 22 arms have 25,000 Eimer's organs, which are similar to Pacinian corpuscles and contain touch receptors. Free-nerve-ending touch receptors are for vibration and contact. Merkel-cell touch receptors are for pressure. Both are in all mammals. Moles have free nerve endings in a circle, used for detecting texture. The most-sensitive arm matures first and is larger in embryos. Skin surfaces probably had such strips in mammal predecessors.
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Date Modified: 2022.0224