The order Insectivora is a now-abandoned biological grouping within the class of mammals. Some species have now been moved out, leaving the remaining ones in the order Eulipotyphla within the larger clade Laurasiatheria, which makes up one of the basal clades of placental mammals.
Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found in the Australian interior. They are small burrowing marsupials that anatomically converge on fossorial placental mammals, such as extant golden moles (Chrysochloridae) and extinct epoicotheres (Pholidota). The species are:
Eulipotyphla is an order of mammals comprising the Erinaceidae ; Solenodontidae (solenodons); Talpidae ; and Soricidae families.
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all of which, to various degrees, they resemble as a result of evolutionary convergence. There are 21 species. Some are relatively common, whereas others are rare and endangered.
The clade Afrosoricida contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three groups of small mammals were for most of the 19th and 20th centuries regarded as a part of the Insectivora or Lipotyphla, but both of those groups, as traditionally used, are polyphyletic.
The family Talpidae includes the true moles who are small insectivorous mammals of the order Eulipotyphla. Talpids are all digging animals to various degrees: moles are completely subterranean animals; shrew moles and shrew-like moles somewhat less so; and desmans, while basically aquatic, excavate dry sleeping chambers; whilst the quite unique star-nosed mole is equally adept in the water and underground. Talpids are found across the Northern Hemisphere of Eurasia and North America, and range as far south as the montane regions of tropical Southeast Asia.
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 moles.
The American shrew mole 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 closely related to the Asian shrew mole. The reason that it is called a "shrew mole" instead of being called either a "shrew" or a "mole" is because of its fur, which is a characteristic of shrews and its large head and heavy dentition, which is characteristic of moles.
The hairy-tailed mole, also known as Brewer's mole, is a medium-sized North American mole. It is the only member of the genus Parascalops. The species epithet breweri refers to Thomas Mayo Brewer, an American naturalist.
Soricomorpha is a formerly used taxon within the class of mammals. In the past it formed a significant group within the former order Insectivora. However, Insectivora was shown to be polyphyletic and various new orders were split off from it, including Afrosoricida, Macroscelidea, and Erinaceomorpha, with the four remaining extant and recent families of Soricomorpha shown here then being treated as a separate order. Insectivora was left empty and disbanded.
The northern marsupial mole or kakarratul is a marsupial in the family Notoryctidae, an endemic animal of arid regions of Central Australia. It lives in the loose sand of dunes and river plains in the desert, spending nearly its entire life beneath ground. The facial features are reduced or absent; their small and strong bodies, weighing little more than 30 grams, are extremely specialised in moving through sand in search of prey. The species is elusive and it is one of the most poorly understood mammals of Australia.
Amblysomus is a genus of the golden mole family, Chrysochloridae, comprising five species of the small, insect-eating, burrowing mammals endemic to Southern Africa. All five species can be found in South Africa and some are also found in Eswatini and Lesotho.
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 genus. The name "shrew-moles" refers to their morphological resemblance to shrews, while generally being thought of as "true moles". The species are the Japanese shrew mole, True's shrew mole and American shrew mole.
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 and the Chinese shrew-like moles (Uropsilinae). The Scalopinae are the only Talpidae subfamily to consist entirely of undisputed moles and no mole-like close relatives such as shrew-moles or desmans.
Ognev's mole is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It occurs in the southeastern coastal area of the Black Sea from northeastern Turkey to Georgia. It inhabits different habitats associated with moist soils in lowland areas. Little information is available about its life history.
The Talysch mole is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is a small member of the family, which outwardly resembles the Levant mole, but is genetically closer to Père David's mole. It is common on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, from southern of Azerbaijan through most of the north of Iran. The habitat includes temperate rainforests and scrub areas. There is little information about the life history of the Talysch mole. It was described in 1945, but had long been considered a subspecies of various other Eurasian moles, and was only recognized as a distinct species in the mid-2010s. No surveys have been carried out to quantify the status of the species.
