The shrew moles or shrew-like moles (''Uropsilus'') are shrew-like members of the mole family of mammals

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ed, high-alpine region bordering

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, external ears, and small forefeet unspecialized for burrowing. Although they are similar to

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 ...

s in size, external appearance, and, presumably, ecological habits, they are nevertheless talpids and considered true moles, as they share a full

zygomatic arch In anatomy, the zygomatic arch (colloquially known as the cheek bone), is a part of the skull formed by the zygomatic process of temporal bone, zygomatic process of the temporal bone (a bone extending forward from the side of the skull, over the ...

with all other moles, while this arch is completely absent in shrews. The genus is the only one of the subfamily Uropsilinae, which is one of the three main subfamilies of Talpidae, the other two being

Talpinae The subfamily 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 mo ...

, or Old World moles and relatives; and the

Scalopinae The Scalopinae, or New World moles, are one of three subfamilies of the family Talpidae, which consists of moles and mole-like animals; the other two subfamilies being the Old World talpids (the Talpinae) and the Chinese shrew-like moles ( Urop ...

, or New World moles. Although little is currently known regarding any aspect of their natural history, the Uropsilinae are thought to be the most ancestral group of moles, and as such, very similar to the primitive talpid from which all Talpidae have evolved. ''Uropsilus'' is thought to be a

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

genus; despite the small distribution of the modern-day species, the subfamily once had a much wider range throughout

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 ...

Species

The genus contains the following species: # ''U. aequodonenia'': Equivalent-teeth shrew mole # ''U. andersoni''

Anderson's shrew mole The Anderson's shrew mole (''Uropsilus andersoni'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China. Its species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a ...

# ''U. atronates'':

Black-backed shrew mole The black-backed shrew mole (''Uropsilus atronates'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, where it is only known from the vicinity of Mucheng in Yunnan Province. It was first named as a subspecies of Anderson ...

# ''U. dabieshanensis'':

Dabie Mountains shrew mole The Dabie Mountains shrew mole (''Uropsilus dabieshanensis'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae and genus ''Uropsilus''. It is endemic to Anhui Province in China, where, as its name suggests, it is only known from the Dabie Mountains. ...

# ''U. fansipanensis'':

Fansipan shrew mole The Fansipan shrew mole (''Uropsilus fansipanensis'') is a shrew-like mole native to Vietnam. References Uropsilus Mammals described in 2023 Mammals of Vietnam {{Talpidae-stub ...

Lao Cai Province __NOTOC__ Lao may refer to: Laos * Something of, from, or related to Laos, a country in Southeast Asia * Lao people (people from Laos, or of Lao descent) * The Lao language * Lao Rongzhi (born 1974), Chinese female serial killer * Lao script, th ...

, Vietnam # ''U. gracilis'':

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. huanggangensis'':

Huangang shrew mole The Huangang shrew mole (''Uropsilus huanggangensis'') is a shrew-like mole native to China. References Uropsilus Mammals described in 2023 {{Talpidae-stub ...

- China # ''U. investigator'':

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. nivatus'':

Snow Mountain shrew mole The Snow Mountain shrew mole (''Uropsilus nivatus'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is native to Yunnan Province in China and potentially Myanmar. Its common name references Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which is the type localit ...

# ''U. soricipes'':

Chinese shrew mole The Chinese shrew mole (''Uropsilus soricipes'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibet ...

Although each species' official English common name still calls them "shrew moles", ''Uropsilus'' today are referred to as "shrew-like moles" to distinguish them from other

shrew mole A shrew mole or shrew-mole is a mole that resembles a shrew.https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrew%20mole Species with this name include: * Five species in the subfamily Uropsilinae, or "shrew-like moles", native to China: ** Equivalen ...

s, ''

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 ...

'' of North America and the

Urotrichini Urotrichini is a tribe of the mole family, and consists of Japanese and American shrew-moles. They belong to the Old World moles and relatives branch of the mole family (Talpidae). There are only two species, each of which represents its own g ...

, or Japanese shrew moles, both of which are morphologically quite different from ''Uropsilus'' and are grouped with the Old World Moles and relatives. As a result, the term "shrew-like moles" has been used to refer to ''Uropsilus'', although specific species are still called "shrew moles".

References

Uropsilus Mammal genera Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards {{talpidae-stub