Oklahoma mammals

Eastern Mole in Oklahoma

Scalopus aquaticus

Native to Oklahoma SNR Unranked in Oklahoma

Not listed as nonindigenous in Oklahoma by USGS NAS; native to its Oklahoma range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Eastern mole surfacing head-first with front digging claws splayed
Photo: Bert Cash from Brunswick , USA · CC BY 2.0Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Photo: Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University · CC BY-SA 3.0Front view showing the naked snout and paddle-shaped front feet

Eastern Mole in Oklahoma, by the numbers

Occasional in Oklahoma 46th most recorded of 120 mammals logged in Oklahoma

249 occurrence records
84 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 27, 2026 Last seen in Oklahoma

Records from 2000–2026.

249 total records count every Oklahoma occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 245 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Mole in Oklahoma

Most sightings fall in May to August.

245 Oklahoma occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Oklahoma records (table)
MonthRecords
January10
February15
March6
April14
May39
June41
July31
August25
September15
October23
November12
December14

Monthly eastern mole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oklahoma, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oklahoma, with recorded sightings peaking in May–August.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Mole has been recorded in Oklahoma

249 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

249 Oklahoma records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
CLO Lands 6
Arcadia Conservation Education Area 1
Keystone State Park 1
Central State Park 1
Western Hills Guest Ranch/sequoya Sp State Resort 1
Drummond Flats Wildlife Management Area 1
Quartz Mountain State Resort Park 1
Fort Supply Wildlife Management Area 1

Protected places with the most eastern mole sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Oklahoma

CountyRecords
Cleveland County 84
Tulsa County 29
Marshall County 16
Pottawatomie County 12
Oklahoma County 9
Le Flore County 9
Woods County 8
Payne County 8
Woodward County 8
Osage County 5
Rogers County 5
Cherokee County 4
31 other counties 52

The complete county distribution, spread across 43 Oklahoma counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern moles spend nearly all their lives underground, so Oklahoma’s record for the species leans heavily on GBIF specimen data (229 of 313 total records), since actually seeing a mole above ground is rare even where they’re common. No NatureServe rank appears on file, SNR unranked.

May alone accounts for 18 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, the largest single-month share, likely tracking spring soil-moisture conditions that push moles closer to the surface and make their raised tunnels more visible after seasonal rains; October offers a secondary bump of 12.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)
Full species profile Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus Size 14.8 cm5.8 in Weight 75 g2.6 oz Lifespan Up to 6.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Oklahoma in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"