California mammals

Townsend's mole in California

Scapanus townsendii

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

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

Live Townsend's mole in green grass, broad pale forepaw and pointed pink snout visibleAI-generated image: Townsend's mole half-emerged from dark soil at the grass edge. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Townsend's mole pushing through damp leaf litter. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: Colton Veltkamp · CC BY 4.0Live Townsend's mole in green grass, broad pale forepaw and pointed pink snout visibleAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyTownsend's mole half-emerged from dark soil at the grass edgeAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyTownsend's mole pushing through damp leaf litter

Townsend's mole in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 176th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

33 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

33 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 29 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Townsend's mole in California

Most sightings fall in March.

29 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January5
February0
March6
April0
May2
June6
July1
August0
September3
October2
November0
December4

Monthly townsend's mole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in March, with a smaller rise in December–January and June.

Occurrence map

Where Townsend's mole has been recorded in California

33 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

33 California records mapped

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Humboldt County 22
Marin County 4
San Francisco County 4
Del Norte County 3

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 33 Townsend’s mole records: 0 from iNaturalist and 33 from GBIF. It ranks 178th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the lower third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The California files don’t contain a complete month-by-month series for this species. That gap limits any claim about seasonal timing, and it doesn’t show that the animal leaves California during part of the year.

The national summary doesn’t provide a California share that can be compared cleanly with this state total. It’s better to treat these records as evidence of documentation effort rather than a measure of the species’ wider range.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Live Townsend's mole in green grass, broad pale forepaw and pointed pink snout visible
Full species profile Townsend's mole Scapanus townsendii Size 18.6 cm7.3 in Weight 138 g4.9 oz View the full profile

More mammals in California 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