Japanese mountain mole

Japanese mountain mole
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Talpidae
Tribe: Talpini
Genus: Oreoscaptor
Kawada, 2016
Species:
O. mizura
Binomial name
Oreoscaptor mizura
(Günther, 1880)
Japanese Mountain Mole range
Synonyms

Euroscaptor mizura

The Japanese mountain mole (Oreoscaptor mizura) is a species of Old World mole in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Oreoscaptor. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland.

Taxonomy

Although the Japanese mountain mole was formerly classified in the genus Euroscaptor, a study published by the American Society of Mammalogists found that they did not truly belong to the genus because of earlier evolutionary divergence from other Euroscaptor species.[2] In 2016, the species was reclassified into the new genus Oreoscaptor.[3][4]

Morphology

The taxonomic position of the species was reassessed in 2016 based on its external and skeletal morphologies. It was found that the muzzle of this species showed a unique groove on the ventral side, separating it from the rest of the moles in the family.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ Laginha Pinto Correia, D. (2016). "Euroscaptor mizura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8385A22320533. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T8385A22320533.en.
  2. ^ a b Shinohara, Akio; Kawada, Shin-ichiro; Son, Nguyen Truong; Koshimoto, Chihiro; Endo, Hideki; Can, Dang Ngoc; Suzuki, Hitoshi (2014-06-26). "Molecular phylogeny of East and Southeast Asian fossorial moles (Lipotyphla, Talpidae)". Journal of Mammalogy. 95 (3): 455–466. doi:10.1644/13-mamm-a-135. ISSN 0022-2372.
  3. ^ a b Kawada, Shin-ichiro (2016). "Morphological Review of the Japanese Mountain Mole (Eulipotyphla, Talpidae) with the Proposal of a New Genus". Mammal Study. 41 (4): 191–205. doi:10.3106/041.041.0404. ISSN 1343-4152. S2CID 88959277.
  4. ^ "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-10-09.