Urotrichini

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Urotrichini
Urotrichus talpoides - Berjeau.jpg
Himizu, or Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Talpidae
Subfamily: Talpinae
Tribe: Urotrichini
Dobson, 1883
Genera

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, [1] True's shrew mole [2] and American shrew mole. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

In Japan, the word "Himizu" (ヒミズ) may refer to both to the Japanese shrew mole in particular and Urotrichini in general; when True's shrew mole is distinguished from the general Himizu forms, the feminine diminutive word "Hime" is added to refer to the smaller size of that species. Although they are common in Japan, their alpine habitats, small size, and secretive lifestyle makes them generally unknown except among some mountain people and researchers.

Morphology and ecological niche

Urotrichini paws are smaller and more downward- and backward-facing than the out-and-to-the-side orientation of the paws of classic moles, although not so much as in shrews. The limbs protrude slightly down and away from the body, as opposed to being invisibly retracted into the body with paws springing from just behind the head, as with moles. As such, Urotrichini are less well adapted than moles to forward burrowing, but better adapted to digging through the softer surface debris, leaf litter, and topsoils of alpine forest surfaces.

Nocturnality

Unlike true moles, Urotrichini are not equally active day and night. Himizu spend a large part of their days sleeping in specially excavated deep subsoil burrows.

Position within the family Talpidae

The Japanese shrewmole and True's shrewmole are more closely related to the American shrew mole than they are either Taiwanese and mainland Asian "shrew moles" or New World moles. These Urotrichini belong to members of the Old World moles subfamily, which also includes moles and desmans. The chiefly Chinese Uropsilinae shrew-like moles, despite previously having been called "shrew-moles" as well, are morphologically and genetically quite different, and comprise a sub-family of their own.

The taxonomy of this group has changed. Both Asiatic species had been thought of as one genus, Urotrichus. More recently, it was decided that a new genus, Dymecodon, be created within the Urotrichini to reflect significant morphological differences.

Distribution

The fluctuating borders between Urotrichini species in Japan have been the subject of study. Dymecodon pilirostris is found only at higher altitudes, possibly due to soil conditions. The larger Urotrichus talpoides dominates richer lowland areas, displacing D. pilirostris to the poorer soils on the steeper slopes of higher altitudes. Maps of these fluctuating boundaries show a sea of Japanese shrew mole territory dotted with islands of True's Shew mole on the steeper areas. This results in isolation of breeding populations of D. pilirostris and notable sub-speciation among the Himizu Hime which is not found among the standard Japanese shrew moles. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

Mole (animal) Small subterranean mammal

Moles are small mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous eyes and ears, reduced hindlimbs, and short, powerful forelimbs with large paws adapted for digging.

Insectivora

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 most basic clades of placental mammals.

Shrew Family of mammals

Shrews are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders.

Eulipotyphla Order of mammals

Eulipotyphla is an order of mammals suggested by molecular methods of phylogenetic reconstruction, and includes the laurasiatherian members of the now-invalid polyphyletic order Lipotyphla, but not the afrotherian members. Lipotyphla in turn had been derived by removing a number of groups from Insectivora, the previously used wastebasket taxon.

Afrosoricida Order of mammals

The order Afrosoricida contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three families of small mammals have traditionally been considered to be a part of the order Insectivora, and were later included in Lipotyphla after Insectivora was abandoned as a wastebasket taxon, before Lipotyphla was also found to be polyphyletic.

Talpidae Family of small insectivorous mammals

The family Talpidae includes the 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.

Lipotyphla is a formerly used order of mammals, including the members of the order Eulipotyphla as well as three other families of the former order Insectivora, Chrysochloridae, Tenrecidae (tenrecs), and Potamogalidae. However, molecular studies found the golden moles, tenrecs, and otter shrews to be unrelated to the others. This made Lypotyphla an invalid polyphyletic order and gave rise to the notion of Eulypotyphla instead, an exclusively laurasiathere grouping.

Talpinae Subfamily of mammals

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.

<i>Uropsilus</i> Genus of mammals

The shrew moles or shrew-like moles (Uropsilus) are shrew-like members of the mole family of mammals endemic to the forested, high-alpine region bordering China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, external ears, and small forefeet unspecialized for burrowing. Although they are similar to shrews in size, external appearance, and, presumably, ecological habits, they are nevertheless talpids and considered true moles, as they share a full zygomatic arch with all other moles, while this arch is completely absent in shrews.

A shrew mole or shrew-mole is a mole that resembles a shrew. Species with this name include:

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 Swaziland and Lesotho.

Insular mole Species of mammal

The insular mole is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is restricted to Hainan Island and Taiwan, where it is also known as the Formosan blind mole. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863.

Senkaku mole Species of mammal

The Senkaku mole, also known as the Ryukyu mole, is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It was formerly classified as being the only species in the genus Nesoscaptor. It is endemic to the Uotsuri-jima of the disputed territory of Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyutai Islands. It is most similar to the Insular mole of Taiwan and Mainland China.

<i>Urotrichus</i> Genus of mammals

Urotrichus is a genus of talpid that contains a single living species, the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides). Two fossil species are also known.

Japanese shrew mole Species of mammal

The Japanese shrew mole or himizu (ヒミズ) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to Japan and is found on Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Awaji Island, Shodo Island, Oki Islands, Tsushima Island, Goto Islands, Mishima Island, and Awashima Island, but is absent from Hokkaido, which is north of Blakiston's Line. It is one of three Urotrichini and it is the only species in the genus Urotrichus. It is common between sea level and approximately 2,000 m.

Scalopinae Subfamily of mammals

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.

Asama orthohantavirus(ASAV), also called Asama virus, is a single-stranded, enveloped, segmented negative-sense RNA hantavirus. The hantavirus was isolated in Japan from Japanese shrew mole. Hantaviruses harbored by shrews are genetically closer to ASAV than to hantaviruses harbored by rodents. Host-switching may be evident in the future due to the viruses closeness to soricine shrew-borne hantaviruses. The detection of the ASAV was the first hantavirus found to be hosted by members of the family Talpidae, which includes shrew moles. Thoughts on hantavirus evolutionary history has expanded due to the discovery of ASAV.

Ognevs mole Species of mammal

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.

Talysch mole Species of mammal

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.

References

  1. ↑ "ハチュウ類・両生類・小型ホニュウ類図鑑". Kagakukan.sendai-c.ed.jp. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  2. ↑ "Adw: Talpidae: Classification". Animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  3. ↑ Yates, Terry L.; Greenbaum, Ira F. (1982). "Biochemical Systematics of North American Moles (Insectivora: Talpidae)". Journal of Mammalogy. 63 (3): 368–374. doi:10.2307/1380433. JSTOR   1380433.
  4. ↑ Yates, TL; Moore, DW (1990). "Speciation and evolution in the family Talpidae (Mammalia: Insectivora)". Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. 335: 1–22. PMID   2408071.
  5. ↑ Nowak, Ronald M; Walker, Ernest Pillsbury (1999-04-07). Walker's Mammals of the World. ISBN   9780801857898 . Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  6. ↑ Motokawa, Masaharu (June 2004). "Phylogenetic relationships within the family Talpidae (Mammalia: Insectivora)". Journal of Zoology. 263 (2): 147–157. doi:10.1017/S0952836904004972. ISSN   1469-7998.
  7. ↑ Shinohara, Akio; Suzuki, Hitoshi; Tsuchiya, Kimiyuki; Zhang, Ya-Ping; Luo, Jing; Jiang, Xue-Long; Wang, Ying-Xiang; Campbell, Kevin L. (December 2004). "Evolution and Biogeography of Talpid Moles from Continental East Asia and the Japanese Islands Inferred from Mitochondrial and Nuclear Gene Sequences". Zoological Science. 21 (12): 1177–1185. doi:10.2108/zsj.21.1177. hdl: 2115/14745 . ISSN   0289-0003. PMID   15613798.
  8. ↑ Carmona, F. David; Motokawa, Masaharu; Tokita, Masayoshi; Tsuchiya, Kimiyuki; Jiménez, Rafael; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R (2007-12-17). "The evolution of female mole ovotestes evidences high plasticity of mammalian gonad development". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 310B (3): 259–266. doi:10.1002/jez.b.21209. PMID   18085526.
  9. ↑ Yoshiyuki, Imura; Yukibumi, Kaneko; Miho, Konno (2009-03-18). "The Shift in the Altitudinal Distributions of Dymecodon pilirostris and Urotrichus talpoides in the Mt. Bandai Area, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan". Mammalian Science (in Japanese) (82): 71–82. ISSN   0385-437X. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  10. ↑ Dobson, Mike (September 1994). "Patterns of distribution in Japanese land mammals". Mammal Review. 24 (3): 91–111. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1994.tb00137.x. ISSN   0305-1838.
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