Kuznetsov's mole

{{Short description|Species of mole}}

{{Speciesbox

| taxon = Euroscaptor kuznetsovi

| authority = Zemlemerova, Bannikova, Lebedev, Rozhnov, & Abramov, 2016

}}

Kuznetsov's mole (Euroscaptor kuznetsovi) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae.{{Cite web|last=taxonomy|title=Taxonomy browser (Euroscaptor kuznetsovi)|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=1955400|access-date=2021-11-03|website=www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}} It is found in northern Vietnam and southern China.{{Cite web|title=Explore the Database|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1004314|access-date=2021-11-03|website=www.mammaldiversity.org}} It was named after Russian mammalogist German V. Kuznetsov of the Russian Academy of Sciences.{{Cite journal|title=Secrets of the Underground Vietnam: an Underestimated Species Diversity of Asian Moles (Lipotyphla: Talpidae: Euroscaptor)|url=https://www.zin.ru/journals/trudyzin/eng/publication.html?id=266|access-date=2021-11-03|journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS| year=2016 |doi=10.31610/trudyzin/2016.320.2.193| last1=Zemlemerova | first1=E.D. | last2=Bannikova | first2=A.A. | last3=Lebedev | first3=V.S. | last4=Rozhnov | first4=V.V. | last5=Abramov | first5=A.V. | volume=320 | issue=2 | pages=193–2200 | doi-access=free }}

Taxonomy

E. kuznetsovi, alongside Orlov's mole (E. orlovi), was formerly considered a population of the long-nosed mole (E. longirostris), but a 2016 study found sufficient genetic divergence to split the populations as distinct species, with the Red River serving as the main geographical barrier leading to E. kuznetsovi's divergence. It is the sister species to E. orlovi.

Distribution

It has been recorded from northeastern Vietnam in Vĩnh Phúc and Cao Bằng provinces, at elevations of 750 to 950 meters asl. A record from Guangxi in southeastern China also likely belongs to this species. It is found east of the Red River.

Description

It is a large-sized mole comparable to E. longirostris and E. orlovi in size. Morphologically, it can be distinguished by its large, club-shaped tail, larger skull size, short molar rows, and wider rostrum.

References