The Snow Mountain shrew mole (''Uropsilus nivatus'') 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 native to
Yunnan Province
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and potentially
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
. Its common name references
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain ( zh, s=玉龙雪山, t=玉龍雪山, p=Yùlóng Xuěshān; Naxi: or ) is a mountain massif or small mountain range in Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Lijiang, in Yunnan province, China. Its highest peak is named Shanzi ...
, which is the type locality of the species. Aside from there, the only other confirmed specimen is from
Cang Mountain
Cangshan or Cang Mountain (), also known as Mount Diancang (), is a mountain range immediately west of Dali City in Yunnan province of Southwest China.
The highest summit, Malong, is 4,122 m, but the range includes another 18 peaks that are over ...
.
It was formerly considered synonymous with the
gracile shrew mole
The gracile shrew mole (''Uropsilus gracilis'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China; populations known from Myanmar likely represent other species (see below).
The black-backed shrew mole (''U. atronates'') a ...
(''U. gracilis''), but a 2018 phylogenetic study found it to be a distinct species. The study found it to be the second most basal member of ''
Uropsilus
The shrew moles or shrew-like moles (''Uropsilus'') are shrew-like members of Talpidae, the mole family of mammals endemic to the forested, high-alpine region bordering China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, ...
'' (with only the
inquisitive shrew mole
The inquisitive shrew mole (''Uropsilus investigator'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is only known from Yunnan province of China, although its range is thought to extend over the border into Myanmar.
A 2018 phylogenetic stud ...
, ''U. investigator'', being more basal), diverging from the rest of the genus during the early-mid
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58