Desman

For other uses, see Desman (disambiguation).

Desmanini [1] Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Russian desman (Desmana moschata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Subfamily:	Talpinae
Tribe:	Desmanini Thomas, 1912
Living genera
Desmana Galemys For fossil genera, see text

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. ^{[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

Further information: List of talpids

• Genus Desmana
  • Russian desman (D. moschata)
  • † Desmana kowalskae ^[5]
  • † Desmana nehringi ^[5]
  • † Desmana inflata ^[5]
  • † Desmana thermalis ^[5]
  • † Desmana marci ^[5]
• 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

• 
  The bare snout of Galemys pyrenaicus
• 
  Galemys pyrenaicus
• 
  Desmana moschata

In the media

• 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

1. 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.
2. 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 .
3. 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 .
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 (1): 55. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...55M. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-55 . PMC   3599842 . PMID   23442022.
9. "Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini".
10. Rzebik-Kowalska, Barbara; Pawłowski, Jerzy. "Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829)". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia.