The Roman mole (''Talpa romana'') is a species of

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

in the 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 ...

. It is endemic to central-southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(from the province of Grosseto to the province of Ancona, south to southern Calabria). It was last recorded on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 1885. There is also an unconfirmed report about an isolated subpopulation in the Vars region of southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Taxonomy

Several subspecies of the Roman mole have been described based on differences in skull size: ''T. r. montana'' (found in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

and

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

), ''T. r. aenigmatica'' (formerly found in

and now extinct), ''T. r. adamoi'' (found in south-central

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

), and ''T. r. brachycrania'' (found in

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy, corresponding to the modern-day region of Basilicata. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and ...

). However, the size of the skull appears to vary clinally from large in the north to smaller in the south, suggesting that the taxonomy of the species needs to be revised to more accurately understand geographic variation in its morphology.

Description

The Roman mole is fairly large compared to other moles, with adults weighing up to 125 g.

Distribution and habitat

The Roman mole is endemic to Italy, where it is found in the central and southern parts of the peninsula. It is locally extinct in Sicily, where it was last seen in 1885. The status of the population rumored to live in

Vars Vars, VARS may refer to: People * Ellen Marie Vars (born 1957), Norwegian Sami author * Henry Vars (1902–1977), Polish-American musician * John de Vars Hazard (1888–1968) * Láilá Susanne Vars (born 1976), Norwegian Sami lawyer and politic ...

in southern France is unconfirmed. The species is found in a wide variety of habitats, including dense forests, woodland, fields, pastures, grasslands, and olive groves, from sea level up to an elevation of 2,000 m.

Biology

Like other moles, Roman moles live entirely underground in individual tunnel systems that they defend territorially. Males defend territories of 2–3 square kilometres normally and up to 7 square kilometres during the breeding season. Females defend territories of 1–2 square kilometres on average. It feeds mainly on earthworms and insect larvae.

Conservation

The Roman mole is listed as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

as it is fairly common throughout its range and is not thought to be declining fast enough to qualify for a threatened listing. It is less common than it was previously and may be experiencing local population declines in areas with heavy agricultural cultivation. It is also listed on Italy's national list of pests and persecuted widely, but this is unlikely to threaten the species. However, it is threatened by overuse of

biocides A biocide is defined in the European legislation as a chemical substance or microorganism intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism. The US United States Environmental Protection Agency, En ...

and chemicals, as well as increasingly severe droughts caused by climate change, which can cause starvation. Previously the Roman mole was hunted for its fur, which was used to make gloves and raincoats, and hunting for this purpose continues. It inhabits several protected areas within its range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1094727 Talpa Mammals of Europe Mammals described in 1902 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Endemic fauna of Italy Taxonomy articles created by Polbot