The

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Talpidae () includes the true moles (as well as the shrew moles and

desman Desmans are aquatic insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole (animal), mole family, Talpidae. This tribe consists of two living species found in Europe: the Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') ...

s) who are small

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

mammals of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Eulipotyphla. Talpids are all digging animals to various degrees: moles are completely subterranean animals; shrew moles and shrew-like moles somewhat less so; and desmans, while basically aquatic, excavate dry sleeping chambers; whilst the quite unique

star-nosed mole The star-nosed mole (''Condylura cristata'') is a small semiaquatic mole (animal), mole found in moist, low elevation areas in the northeastern parts of North America. It is the only Extant taxon, extant member of the tribe Condylurini and genu ...

is equally adept in the water and underground. Talpids are found across the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

(although none are found in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

nor in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

south of northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

), and range as far south as the

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

regions of tropical

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The first talpids evolved from

shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...

-like animals which adapted to digging late in the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

in Europe. '' Eotalpa anglica'' is the oldest known mole, it was discovered in the Late Eocene deposits of Hampshire Basin, UK. The most primitive living talpids are believed to be the shrew-like moles, with other species having adapted further into the subterranean, and, in some cases, aquatic lifestyles.

Characteristics

Talpids are small, dark-furred animals with cylindrical bodies and hairless, tubular snouts. They range in size from the tiny shrew moles of North America, as small as 10 cm in length and weighing under 12 grams, to the

Russian desman The Russian desman (''Desmana moschata''; ''vykhukhol'') is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga river, Volga, Don River, Russia, Don and Ural River basins in Russia. Some authorities, citing old Soviet sources, claim the animal ca ...

, with a body length of 18–22 cm, and a weight of about 550 grams. The

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

varies between species, but is always dense and short; desmans have waterproof undercoats and oily

guard hair Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the ...

s, while the subterranean moles have short, velvety fur lacking any guard hairs. The forelimbs of moles are highly adapted for digging, with powerful claws, and the paws turned permanently outwards to aid in shovelling dirt away from the front of the body. By contrast, desmans have webbed paws with a fringe of stiff fur to aid in swimming. Moles generally have short tails, but those of desmans are elongated and flattened. All species have small eyes and poor eyesight, but only a few are truly blind. The external ears are very small or absent.Grzimek, Bernhard. ''Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Volume 10: Mammals I.'' New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1975. Print. Talpids rely primarily on their sense of

touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

, having sensory vibrissae on their faces, legs, and tails. Their flexible snouts are particularly sensitive. Desmans are able to close both their nostrils and ears while diving. Unusually, the

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

of talpids points backwards, and they have no

scrotum In most terrestrial mammals, the scrotum (: scrotums or scrota; possibly from Latin ''scortum'', meaning "hide" or "skin") or scrotal sac is a part of the external male genitalia located at the base of the penis. It consists of a sac of skin ...

. Females have six or eight teats. Both sexes have claws on all five fingers and on all five toes. The paw has an additional bone called the os falciforme. In burrowing moles, the

clavicle The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavic ...

and the humeral head are connected. The

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

and the

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

are partially fused in all talpids. The pubis does not connect the two halves of the

pelvic girdle The hip bone (os coxae, innominate bone, pelvic bone or coxal bone) is a large flat bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. In some vertebrates (including humans before puberty) it is composed of three parts: the Ilium (bone) ...

. The

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

is long, narrow, and rather flattened. Talpids are generally insectivorous. 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 ...

s, insect larvae, and occasionally slugs, while desmans eat aquatic invertebrates such as shrimps, insect larvae, and

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s. Talpids have relatively unspecialized teeth, with the

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

Sex characteristics

Behavior

Desmans and shrew moles are primarily

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, but moles are active day and night, usually travelling above ground only under cover of darkness. Most moles dig permanent

burrow file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal lo ...

s, and subsist largely on prey that falls into them. The shrew moles dig burrows to access deep sleeping chambers, but forage for food on the forest floor by night. Desmans dig burrows in riverbanks for shelter and forage in the water of rivers and lakes. The star-nosed mole is able to make a living much as other moles do, but are also very capable aquatic creatures, where they are able to smell underwater by using their unique proboscis to hold out a bubble of air into the water. Talpids appear to be generally quite antisocial animals, and although at least one species, the star-nosed mole, will share burrows, talpids are known to engage in much territorial behavior, including extraordinarily fast battles.

Classification

The family is divided into three subfamilies, 19 genera and 59 species. *Family Talpidae **Subfamily Uropsilinae - Asian shrew-like moles (Chinese shrew moles) *** Genus '' Uropsilus'' - eight species in China, Bhutan, and Myanmar **** Equivalent-teeth shrew mole, ''U. aequodonenia'' **** Anderson's shrew mole, ''U. andersoni'' **** Black-backed shrew mole, ''U. atronates'' **** Dabie Mountains shrew mole, ''U. dabieshanensis'' **** Gracile shrew mole, ''U. gracilis'' **** Inquisitive shrew mole, ''U. investigator'' **** Snow Mountain shrew mole, ''U. nivatus'' **** Chinese shrew mole, ''U. soricipes'' **Subfamily Scalopinae - New World moles *** Tribe Condylurini - condylurine moles **** Genus '' Condylura'' - one species in eastern North America *****

Star-nosed mole The star-nosed mole (''Condylura cristata'') is a small semiaquatic mole (animal), mole found in moist, low elevation areas in the northeastern parts of North America. It is the only Extant taxon, extant member of the tribe Condylurini and genu ...

, ''C. cristata'' *** Tribe Scalopini - scalopine moles **** Genus '' Alpiscaptulus'' - one species in China ***** Medog mole, ''A. medogensis'' ****Genus '' Parascalops'' - one species in northeastern North America ***** Hairy-tailed mole, ''P. breweri'' **** Genus '' Scalopus'' - one species in eastern North America ***** Eastern mole, ''S. aquaticus'' **** Genus '' Scapanulus'' - one species in China ***** Gansu mole, ''S. oweni'' **** Genus '' Scapanus'' - five species in western North America ***** Mexican mole, ''S. anthonyi'' ***** Northern broad-footed mole, ''S. latimanus'' ***** Southern broad-footed mole, ''S. occultus'' ***** Coast mole, ''S. orarius'' ***** Townsend's mole, ''S. townsendii'' **Subfamily Talpinae - Old World moles, desmans, and shrew moles *** Tribe Talpini - talpine moles **** Genus ''

Euroscaptor ''Euroscaptor'' is a genus of mammal in the family Talpidae. Members are found in China and South Asia, South & Southeast Asia. It contains the following species as of October 2021: * Greater Chinese mole (''Euroscaptor grandis'') * Kloss's mole ...

'' - ten species in East, South, and Southeast Asia ***** Greater Chinese mole, ''E. grandis'' ***** Kloss's mole, ''E. klossi'' ***** Kuznetsov's mole, ''E. kuznetsovi'' ***** Long-nosed mole, ''E. longirostris'' ***** Malaysian mole, ''E. malayanus'' ***** Himalayan mole, ''E. micrurus'' ***** Ngoc Linh mole, ''E. ngoclinhensis'' ***** Orlov's mole, ''E. orlovi'' ***** Small-toothed mole, ''E. parvidens'' ***** Vietnamese mole, ''E. subanura'' **** Genus '' Mogera'' - nine species from East Asia ***** Echigo mole, ''M. etigo'' ***** Small Japanese mole, ''M. imaizumii'' ***** Insular mole, ''M. insularis'' ***** Kano's mole, ''M. kanoana'' ***** La Touche's mole, ''M. latouchei'' ***** Ussuri mole, ''M. robusta'' ***** Sado mole, ''M. tokudae'' ***** Senkaku mole, ''M. uchidai'' ***** Japanese mole, ''M. wogura'' **** Genus '' Oreoscaptor'' - one species in Japan ***** Japanese mountain mole, ''O. mizura'' ****Genus '' Parascaptor'' - one species in southern Asia ***** White-tailed mole, ''P. leucura'' **** Genus '' Scaptochirus'' - China ***** Short-faced mole, ''S. moschatus'' **** Genus '' Talpa'' - thirteen species, Europe and western Asia ***** Altai mole, ''T. altaica'' ***** Aquitanian mole, ''T. aquitania'' ***** Blind mole, ''T. caeca'' ***** Caucasian mole, ''T. caucasica'' ***** Père David's mole, ''T. davidiana'' *****

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. ...

, ''T. europaea'' ***** 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'' *** Tribe Scaptonychini **** Genus '' Scaptonyx'' - one species in China and Myanmar ***** Long-tailed mole, ''S. fusicauda'' *** Tribe Desmanini - desmans **** Genus '' Desmana'' *****

, ''D. moschata'' **** Genus '' Galemys'' ***** Pyrenean desman, ''G. pyrenaicus'' *** Tribe Urotrichini - Japanese shrew moles **** Genus '' Dymecodon'' ***** True's shrew mole, ''D. pilirostris'' **** Genus '' Urotrichus'' ***** Japanese shrew mole, ''U. talpoides'' *** Tribe Neurotrichini - New World shrew moles **** Genus '' Neurotrichus'' - Pacific northwest US, southwest British Columbia ***** American shrew mole, ''N. gibbsii'' Some studies suggest that this classification into three subfamilies is not entirely accurate, finding Uropsilinae to be the most basal member, then Desmanini, then a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

comprising Neurotrichini, Scaptonychini, and Urotrichini, then the Condylurini, and then Talpini and Scalopini being sister groups to one another. The current classification into 3 subfamilies renders both Talpinae and Scalopinae

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

Unrelated mammals built like moles

The following mammals have burrowing habits, and have by virtue of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

many derived characters in common with true moles from the family Talpidae but are nonetheless unrelated. * Marsupial moles (2 species): '' Notoryctes typhlops'', and '' N. caurinus''. * Golden moles (21 species), belonging to the

Afrotheria Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a superorder of placental mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephan ...

Relationship with humans

All species in the family Talpidae are classed as "prohibited new organisms" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, preventing them from being imported into the country.

References

{{Authority control Mammal families Extant Eocene first appearances Taxa named by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim