The

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Talpinae, sometimes called "Old World moles" or "Old World moles and relatives", is one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Scalopinae, or New World moles, and the Uropsilinae, or shrew-like moles. These mammals in the order Eulipotyphla mainly live under ground. The species in this group are all found in Eurasia, except ''

Neurotrichus gibbsii The American shrew mole (''Neurotrichus gibbsii'') is the smallest species of mole. It is the only living member of the genus ''Neurotrichus'' and the tribe Neurotrichini. It is also known as Gibb's shrew mole and least shrew mole. It is not cl ...

''. Most species have front paws specialized for tunneling which are clawed and face outwards from the body. They mainly eat insects and other small invertebrates.

Taxonomy

Although most systems recognize this subfamily as monophyletic, some studies indicate that it as currently defined is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

with respect to the Scalopinae, with Desmanini being the most basal member, then a clade comprising Neurotrichini,

Scaptonychini The long-tailed mole (''Scaptonyx fusicauda'') is a species of mole in the family Talpidae. It is found in China, Vietnam and Myanmar. Taxonomy The species is the only species in the genus ''Scaptonyx'' and the tribe Scaptonychini. At least two ...

, and Urotrichini, then the Condylurini (otherwise classified in the Scalopinae), and then

Talpini Talpini is a tribe of mammals known as Old World Moles. It is a division of the subfamily Talpinae. This tribe contains the following genera and species: * Tribe Talpini ** Genus '' Euroscaptor'' *** Greater Chinese mole, ''E. grandis'' * ...

and Scalopini being sister groups to one another. The list of species is: * Subfamily Talpinae ** Tribe Desmanini *** Genus '' Desmana'' **** Russian desman, ''Desmana moschata'' *** Genus '' Galemys'' **** Pyrenean desman, ''Galemys pyrenaicus'' ** Tribe Neurotrichini *** Genus '' Neurotrichus'' **** American shrew mole, ''Neurotrichus gibbsii'' ** Tribe

*** Genus '' Scaptonyx'' ****

Long-tailed mole The long-tailed mole (''Scaptonyx fusicauda'') is a species of mole in the family Talpidae. It is found in China, Vietnam and Myanmar. Taxonomy The species is the only species in the genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used ...

, ''Scaptonyx fusicauda'' ** Tribe

***Genus '' Euroscaptor'' **** Greater Chinese mole, ''E. grandis'' **** Kloss's mole, ''E. klossi'' ****

Kuznetsov's mole Kuznetsov's mole (''Euroscaptor kuznetsovi'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is found in northern Vietnam and southern China. It was named after Russian mammalogist German V. Kuznetsov of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Tax ...

, ''E. kuznetsovi'' ****

Long-nosed mole The long-nosed mole (''Euroscaptor longirostris'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, where it has a widespread distribution. Orlov's mole (''E. orlovi'') and Kuznetsov's mole (''E. kuznetsovi''), both of wh ...

, ''E. longirostris'' ****

Malaysian mole The Malaysian mole (''Euroscaptor malayanus'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to the highlands of peninsular Malaysia, making it the southernmost known species of mole. Taxonomy This species was formerly classifie ...

, ''E. malayanus'' ****

Himalayan mole The Himalayan mole (''Euroscaptor micrurus'') or short-tailed mole is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. Taxonomy The Malaysian mole (''E. malayanus'') of peninsular Malaysia was sometimes (erroneously) considered to be a population ...

, ''E. micrurus'' **** Ngoc Linh mole, ''E. ngoclinhensis'' ****

Orlov's mole Orlov's mole (''Euroscaptor orlovi'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is known from northern Vietnam, southern China, and possibly Laos. It was named after Russian zoologist Nikolai L. Orlov of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ...

, ''E. orlovi'' ****

Small-toothed mole The small-toothed mole (''Euroscaptor parvidens'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is found in Di Linh, in southern Vietnam, and Rakho near the border of Vietnam and China, and in southern Yunnan, China, near the Vietnamese bor ...

, ''E. parvidens'' ****

Vietnamese mole The Vietnamese mole (''Euroscaptor subanura'') is a species of talpine mole found in Vietnam. The species was first identified in December 2008 in the foothills of the Tam Dao mountains in northern Vietnam. At the time of the formal description ...

, ''E. subanura'' *** Genus '' Mogera'' **** 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'' ****

Japanese mountain mole 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 temp ...

, ''O. mizura'' *** Genus ''

Parascaptor The white-tailed mole (''Parascaptor leucura'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is found in Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA convention ...

'' **** White-tailed mole, ''P. leucura'' *** Genus ''

Scaptochirus The short-faced mole (''Scaptochirus moschatus'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is the only species within the genus ''Scaptochirus''. It is endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is ...

'' - China ****

Short-faced mole The short-faced mole (''Scaptochirus moschatus'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is the only species within the genus ''Scaptochirus''. It is endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is ...

, ''S. moschatus'' *** Genus '' Talpa'' ****

Altai mole The Altai mole or Siberian mole (''Talpa altaica'') is a species of mole in the family Talpidae. It is found throughout the taiga zone of south-central Siberia in Russia, as far south as northern Mongolia and Kazakhstan. This mole lives in fore ...

, ''T. altaica'' **** Aquitanian mole, ''T. aquitania'' **** Blind mole, ''T. caeca'' **** Caucasian mole, ''T. caucasica'' **** Père David's mole, ''T. davidiana'' **** European mole, ''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 Urotrichini *** Genus '' Dymecodon'' **** True's shrew mole, ''Dymecodon pilirostris'' *** Genus ''

Urotrichus ''Urotrichus'' is a genus of talpid that contains a single living species, the Japanese shrew mole ''(Urotrichus talpoides)''. Two fossil species ('' Urotrichus dolichochir'' and '' Urotrichus giganeus'') are also known. ''Urotrichus talpoides' ...

'' **** Japanese shrew mole, ''Urotrichus talpoides''

References

External links

ADW - Talpinae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q678627 Talpidae