''Talpa'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the mole family

Talpidae The family (biology), family Talpidae () includes the true Mole (animal), moles (as well as the shrew moles and desmans) who are small insectivore, insectivorous mammals of the order (biology), order Eulipotyphla. Talpids are all fossorial, diggi ...

. Among the first taxa in science, Carolus Linnaeus used the Latin word for "mole", ''talpa'', in his Regnum Animale to refer to the commonly known European form of mole. The group has since been expanded to include 13 extant species, found primarily in Europe and western Asia. The

European mole The European mole (''Talpa europaea'') is a mammal of the order Eulipotyphla. It is also known as the common mole and the northern mole. This mole lives in a tunnel system, which it constantly extends. It uses these tunnels to hunt its prey. ...

, found throughout most of Europe, is a member of this genus, as are several species restricted to small ranges. One species, Père David's mole, is data deficient. These moles eat

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, and other

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s found in the soil. The females of this genus have rudimentary male features such as Cowper's glands and a two-lobed

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

. A group of scientists has suggested that they are true hermaphrodites; however, others state that they are fully functional females. There are 14 species in this genus: * Altai mole, ''T. altaica'' * Aquitanian mole, ''T. aquitania'' * Blind mole, ''T. caeca'' * Caucasian mole, ''T. caucasica'' * Père David's mole, ''T. davidiana'' *

, ''T. europaea'' * ''T. hakkariensis'' * Levant mole, ''T. levantis'' * Martino's mole, ''T. martinorum'' * Spanish mole, ''T. occidentalis'' * Ognev's mole, ''T. ognevi'' * Roman mole, ''T. romana'' * Balkan mole, ''T. stankovici'' * Talysch mole, ''T. talyschensis'' In addition, several extinct species are known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

remains, here the list: * † ''Talpa tyrrhenica'' * †'' Talpa fossilis'' * †'' Talpa praeglacialis'' * †'' Talpa minor'' *†'' Talpa vallesensis'' *†'' Talpa episcopalis'' *†'' Talpa gilothi'' *†'' Talpa minuta'' *†'' Talpa gracilis'' *†'' Talpa neagui'' *†'' Talpa tenuidentata'' *†'' Talpa sansaniensis'' The current phylogeny of the species in the genus is shown below:

References

External links

Talpa Mammal genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa described in 1758 {{talpidae-stub