Desmans are aquatic insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole family, Talpidae.
| Desmanini[1] Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Russian desman (Desmana moschata) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Subfamily: | Talpinae |
| Tribe: | Desmanini Thomas, 1912 |
| Living genera | |
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For fossil genera, see text | |
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This tribe consists of two living species found in Europe: the Russian desman (Desmana moschata) in European Russia, and the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees. Both species are endangered, the Russian desman critically so.[2][3] They have webbed paws and their front paws are not well-adapted for digging. Desmans were much more diverse and widespread during the Miocene, with two genera, Gaillardia and Magnatalpa, being present in North America.[4][5] Both living species are thought to have derived from the fossil genus Archaeodesmana.[6]
Species
edit- Genus Desmana
- Genus Galemys
- Pyrenean desman (G. pyrenaicus)
- Genus †Asthenoscapter Miocene, Europe[7]
- Genus †Archaeodesmana Miocene-Pliocene, Europe
- Genus †Desmanella Miocene, Europe[8][9]
- Genus †Gaillardia Miocene, North America
- Genus †Mygalinia Late Miocene, Hungary
- Genus †Magnatalpa Miocene-Pliocene, North America[5]
- Genus †Ruemkelia[10]
Gallery
edit-
The bare snout of Galemys pyrenaicus -
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In the media
edit- Morelle, Rebecca (2012-09-04). "Pyrenean desman: On the trail of Europe's weirdest beast". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
video report
- "Russians rally for water mammal". BBC News Online. 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
References
edit- ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Quaglietta, L. (2022) [amended version of 2021 assessment]. "Galemys pyrenaicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T8826A214429993. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8826A214429993.en.
- ^ Rutovskaya, M.; Gazzard, A.; Turvey, S.T. (2023). "Desmana moschata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T6506A231334630. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T6506A231334630.en.
- ^ Martin, James E. (2017). "A rare occurrence of the fossil water mole Gaillardia (Desmanini, Talpidae) from the Neogene in North America" (PDF). Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science. 96: 95–98.
- ^ a b c d e f g Oberg, Danielle; Samuels, Joshua (2022). "Fossil moles from the Gray Fossil Site (Tennessee): Implications for diversification and evolution of North American Talpidae". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/1150. S2CID 91857382.
- ^ Minwer-Barakat, Raef; García-Alix, Antonio; Martín-Suárez, Elvira; Freudenthal, Matthijs (2020-12-01). "Early Pliocene Desmaninae (Mammalia, Talpidae) from Southern Spain and the Origin of the Genus Desmana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (5): e1835936. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E5936M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 228905970.
- ^ Hutchison, John Howard (1974). "Notes on type specimens of European Miocene Talpidae and a tentative classification of old world Tertiary Talpidae (Insectivora: Mammalia)". Geobios. 7 (3): 211–256. Bibcode:1974Geobi...7..211H. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(74)80009-4.
- ^ Meier, Patricia; Bickelmann, Constanze; Scheyer, Torsten; Koyabu, Daisuke; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo (2013). "Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 55. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-55. PMC 3599842. PMID 23442022.
- ^ "Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini".
- ^ Rzebik-Kowalska, Barbara; Pawłowski, Jerzy. "Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829)". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia.