Desman

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Desmanini{{MSW3 Hutterer | page = 303}}

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Oligocene|Recent}}

| image = Desman-drawing.jpg

| image_caption = Russian desman (Desmana moschata)

| taxon = Desmanini

| authority = Thomas, 1912

| subdivision_ranks = Living genera

| subdivision = *Desmana

Galemys

For fossil genera, see text

| range_map = Desman range.jpg

}}

Desmans are aquatic insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole family, Talpidae.

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.{{cite iucn |author=Quaglietta, L. |year=2022 |amends=2021 |title=Galemys pyrenaicus |page=e.T8826A214429993 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8826A214429993.en}}{{cite iucn |author=Rutovskaya, M. |author2=Gazzard, A. |author3=Turvey, S.T. |year=2023 |title=Desmana moschata |page=e.T6506A231334630 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T6506A231334630.en}} 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.{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=James E.|date=2017|title=A rare occurrence of the fossil water mole Gaillardia (Desmanini, Talpidae) from the Neogene in North America|url=https://sdaos.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/2017/94-98.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science|volume=96|pages=95–98}} Both living species are thought to have derived from the fossil genus Archaeodesmana.{{Cite journal|last1=Minwer-Barakat|first1=Raef|last2=García-Alix|first2=Antonio|last3=Martín-Suárez|first3=Elvira|last4=Freudenthal|first4=Matthijs|date=2020-12-01|title=Early Pliocene Desmaninae (Mammalia, Talpidae) from Southern Spain and the Origin of the Genus Desmana|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|language=en|volume=40|issue=5|pages=e1835936|doi=10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936|bibcode=2020JVPal..40E5936M |s2cid=228905970 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription}}

Species

Genus Desmana
Russian desman (D. moschata)
†Desmana kowalskae
†Desmana nehringi
†Desmana inflata
†Desmana thermalis
†Desmana marci
Genus Galemys
Pyrenean desman (G. pyrenaicus)
Genus †Asthenoscapter Miocene, Europe{{cite journal|last1=Hutchison|first1=John Howard|year=1974|title=Notes on type specimens of European Miocene Talpidae and a tentative classification of old world Tertiary Talpidae (Insectivora: Mammalia)|journal=Geobios|volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=211–256 |doi=10.1016/s0016-6995(74)80009-4|bibcode=1974Geobi...7..211H }}
Genus †Archaeodesmana Miocene-Pliocene, Europe
Genus †Desmanella Miocene, Europe{{Cite journal|last1=Meier|first1=Patricia|last2=Bickelmann|first2=Constanze|last3=Scheyer|first3=Torsten|last4=Koyabu|first4=Daisuke|last5=Sánchez-Villagra|first5=Marcelo|title=Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-13-55|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=2013 |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=55 |pmid=23442022 |pmc=3599842 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2013BMCEE..13...55M }}{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=65634|title=Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini}}
Genus †Gaillardia Miocene, North America
Genus †Mygalinia Late Miocene, Hungary
Genus †Magnatalpa Miocene-Pliocene, North America{{Cite journal|last1=Oberg|first1=Danielle|last2=Samuels|first2=Joshua|year=2022|title=Fossil moles from the Gray Fossil Site (Tennessee): Implications for diversification and evolution of North American Talpidae|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|doi=10.26879/1150|s2cid=91857382 |doi-access=free}}
Genus †Ruemkelia{{Cite journal|title=Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829)|first1=Barbara|last1=Rzebik-Kowalska|first2=Jerzy|last2=Pawłowski|journal=Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia}}