The color is generally blackish brown to almost black, but some individuals are light gray. The snout is shorter and less truncate than in Scalopus, and the nostrils open upward. The eyes are visible, but the ears are not evident externally. The palms of the forefeet are as broad as they are long, and the nonwebbed fingers possess large digging claws. The tail is thick, tapered toward the hip, slightly constricted near the base, indistinctly encircled with rows of scales, and covered with coarse hairs.
Females have four pairs of mammae.
S. orarius occurs with S. townsendii in some areas but prefers better-drained soil and enters dense deciduous forests, which S. townsendii avoids. S. latimanus prefers moist soils. The elevational range exceeds 2,700 meters. These moles are active either day or night, but they are so hidden in their burrows that they are seldom seen. S. townsendii seems to be mainly nocturnal.