Blind mole
| Blind mole | ||||||||||||
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Head of the blind mole |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Talpa caeca | ||||||||||||
| Savi , 1822 |
The blind mole ( Talpa caeca ) is a mammal of the family of moles (Talpidae) within the order of insectivores (Eulipotyphla). The small and spatially non-contiguous (disjoint) European range of the species includes the southwestern part of the Alps , the Apennines to the southern tip of Italy and isolated parts of the western Balkans . The species is not considered endangered.
Mark
The blind mole is smaller than the similar European mole and the other species, some of which are also sympatric, the Roman mole ( Talpa romana ) and the Balkan mole ( T. stankovici ). The head-trunk length is 95-140 mm, the tail length 20-43 mm and the length of the hind foot 15-18 mm. The animals weigh 29-120 g. The eyes are covered by a membrane. The fur is black. The rostrum is longer and narrower than in the other sympatric mole species, further differences concern the position of the infraorbital foramen and the shape and size of certain teeth.
distribution and habitat
The relatively small European distribution area of the blind mole includes the southwestern part of the Alps , the Apennines to the southern tip of Italy and isolated parts of the western Balkans between the Neretva River in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Gulf of Corinth in Greece . He lives in deciduous forests, meadows and pastures. In karst areas , the occurrence is limited to areas with deep soils. In the Balkans, where the blind mole occurs together with the European mole, the latter inhabits the more humid and deep soils, while the blind mole is pushed to drier and rocky soils. The blind mole is largely restricted to mountains and occurs there at heights of 400 to 2000 m.
Way of life
The way of life apparently largely corresponds to that of the European mole.
Existence and endangerment
The blind mole can be common locally, there is no evidence of population decline. According to the IUCN, the world population is not at risk (“least concern”).
swell
literature
- Stéphane Aulagnier, Patrick Haffner, Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones, François Moutou, Jan Zima: The mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The destination guide. Haupt, Bern et al. 2009, ISBN 978-3-258-07506-8 , pp. 64-65.
- Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones, Giovanni Amori, Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, Boris Krystufek, PJH Reijnders, Friederike Spitzenberger, Michael Stubbe, Johan BM Thissen, Vladimiŕ Vohralik, Jan Zima: The Atlas of European Mammals. Poyser, London, 1999, ISBN 0-85661-130-1 , pp. 80-81.
Web links
- Talpa caeca in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Amori, G., Hutterer, R. Bertolino, S., Mitsain, G. Yigit, N., Krystufek, B. & Palomo, LJ, 2008 Retrieved December 12, 2009.
Individual evidence
- ^ The blind mole on the IUCN Red List, distribution map
- ↑ Stéphane Aulagnier, Patrick Haffner, Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones, François Moutou, Jan Zima: The mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 2009, p. 64.