Ognev mole
| Ognev mole | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Talpa ognevi | ||||||||||||
| Stroganov , 1944 |
The Ognev mole ( Talpa ognevi ) is a species of mammal from the family of the moles (Talpidae) within the order of the insect eater (Eulipotyphla). It occurs in the southeastern coastal area of the Black Sea from northeastern Turkey to Georgia . The animals inhabit different types of landscape in lowland areas, each associated with moist soils. No information is available about their way of life. Outwardly, the Ognev mole resembles the Caucasian mole that occurs further north , but is larger and has more robust teeth. For a time it was also considered a subspecies of the more northerly form. However, genetic investigations revealed striking differences and in 2018 led to the recognition of the Ognev mole as an independent species. It was scientifically named in 1944. No data has yet been collected on the endangerment of the population.
features
Habitus
The Ognev mole reaches a head-trunk length of 13.4 to 14.2 cm, a tail length of 2.0 to 2.6 cm and a weight of 62 to 91 g. The sexual dimorphism is only slight, males are on average 5% heavier than females. With the specified dimensions, the Ognev mole is larger than the closely related Caucasian mole ( Talpa caucasica ). Outwardly, both types are similar. Like all moles, the animals are characterized by a cylindrical and robust body, a short neck and shovel-like front feet. The coat color has a blackish gray to black hue. Occasionally yellowish spots are formed on the muzzle, throat and chest. According to the Caucasian, but different from the European mole ( Talpa europaea ), the eyes are covered with a translucent skin. The rear foot is 1.8 to 2.0 cm long.
Skull and dentition features
The length of the skull varies between 33.6 and 35.0 mm, the width on the zygomatic arch is 12.1 to 13.7 mm, on the brain skull it is 15.9 to 17.2 mm. It has a robust rostrum that is between 9.0 and 10.1 mm wide. The dentition has 44 teeth with the following dental formula : . Compared to the Caucasian mole, the upper molars are very strong. The upper row of teeth extends over 14.7 to 15.8 mm in length, of which the molars take up 6.0 to 7.4 mm. In proportion, the upper row of teeth takes up around 40% of the length of the skull.
Genetic traits
The diploid chromosome set is 2n = 38. It consists of 8 metacentric, 3 submetacentric, 2 subtelocentric and 5 teloacrocentric pairs of chromosomes. The largest chromosome has two arms. The X chromosome is (sub) metacentric, the Y chromosome is speckled.
distribution and habitat
The range of the Ognev mole includes the southeastern coastal areas of the Black Sea . It occurs from the province of Artvin in northeastern Turkey to the neighboring Georgia to the north , where the habitat extends inland to the upper reaches of the Kura River. The northern limit of distribution has not been adequately explored. The animals prefer lowlands and river valleys near the coast. Higher areas are mostly used by the sympatric species Talpa transcaucasica . The Ognev mole can be found in gardens, fields, and wooded landscapes with moist soils.
Way of life
There is no information about the way of life of the Ognev mole. Presumably it resembles that of the Caucasian mole.
Systematics
|
Internal systematics of the Eurasian moles according to Demırtaş et al. 2020
|
The Ognev-mole is a type from the genus of the Eurasian moles ( Talpa ). The genus includes around a dozen other members, including the European mole ( Talpa europaea ) as its most famous representative. The Eurasian moles belong to the tribe of the actual moles (Talpini) and the family of the moles (Talpidae). The actual moles in turn include the mostly burrowing forms of the moles, while other members of the family only partially live underground, move above ground or have a semi-aquatic way of life.
The first scientific description of the Ognev mole was made in 1944 by Sergei Uljanowitsch Stroganow under the name Talpa romana ognevi and thus as a subspecies of the Roman mole ( Talpa romana ). Above all, the comparatively larger size of the animals and their robust tooth structure compared to the Caucasian mole, which occurs further north, motivated Stroganov to incorporate his new form into the Roman mole. As a type locality he gave Bakuriani in the region around Borjomi in southern Georgia . The holotype is formed by an adult male animal from there. In addition, Stroganov examined seven other individuals, some of which had been found in the vicinity of Kutaisi . With the specific epithet , Stroganow honored the Soviet zoologist Sergei Ivanovich Ognjow . In 1989, the Ognev mole was designated as one of three subspecies of the Caucasian mole by Vladimir Evgenyevich Sokolov . The distinction was based on size, whereby the Ognev mole stood out as an extremely distinctive shape from the other Caucasian moles. In line with the moles of the Caucasus region and southern Europe, the Ognev mole also has a caecoidal structure of the sacrum (the opening of the foramen on the fourth sacral vertebra is directed backwards). This is a striking difference to the europaeoidal structure (the opening of the foramen on the fourth sacral vertebra is covered by a bone bridge) of the pelvic area in numerous Central and Western European moles.
Molecular genetic studies since the 2010s have shown a relatively basal position of the Caucasian moles together with the Siberian mole ( Talpa altaica ) within the Eurasian mole. The separation of this group dates back to the transition from the Miocene to the Pliocene more than 5 million years ago. In 2015, genetic analyzes then showed a clear separation between the moles of the northern and southern Caucasus region. This was supported by the deep temporal separation of the two lines, which, according to the results, have gone their own way since the end of the Pliocene around 3 to 2.5 million years ago. The authors of the study therefore suspected an independent position of the Ognev mole, but omitted a species position, as no genetic material from individuals from the type locality was available to them. A good three years later, in the eighth volume of the standard work Handbook of the Mammals of the World , the Ognev mole was granted species status. This separation from the Caucasian mole is also supported by individual cytogenetic data, as the largest chromosome in the Ognev mole has two arms , whereas the Caucasian mole has an acrocentric structure.
Threat and protection
The Ognev mole is not recorded by the IUCN . No information is available on the endangerment of the stocks or on protective measures.
literature
- Boris Kryštufek and Masaharu Motokawa: Talpidae (Moles, Desmans, Star-nosed Moles and Shrew Moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths, Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 552-620 (p. 610) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Boris Kryštufek and Vladimír Vohralík: Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus. Introduction, Checklist, Insectivora. Koper, 2001, pp. 1–140 (pp. 98–100)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Boris Kryštufek and Masaharu Motokawa: Talpidae (Moles, Desmans, Star-nosed Moles and Shrew Moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths, Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 552-620 (p. 610) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
- ↑ a b Sergei Uljanowitsch Stroganow: New forms of insectivorous mammals. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR 44 (3), 1944, pp. 120-122
- ↑ a b c Haluk Kefelioğlu and Solmaz Gençoğlu: Karadeniz bölgesi Talpa (Mammalia, Insectivora) 'larının taksonomisi yayılışı. Turkish Journal of Zoology 20, 1996, pp. 57-66
- ^ Atilla Arslan and Jan Zima: Karyotypes of the mammals of Turkey and neighboring regions: a review. Folia Zoologica 63 (1), 2014, pp. 1–62, doi: 10.25225 / fozo.v63.i1.a1.2014
- ↑ E. Gornung, M. Volleth, E. Capanna and R. Castiglia: Comparative cytogenetics of moles (Eulipotyphla, Talpidae): chromosomal differences in Talpa romana and T. europaea. Cytogenetic Genome Research 121, 2008, pp. 249-254, doi: 10.1159 / 000138892
- ↑ Sadık Demırtaş, Metin Silsüpür, Jeremy B. Searle, David Bilton and İslam Gündüz: What should we call the Levant mole? Unraveling the systematics and demography of Talpa levantis Thomas, 1906 sensu lato (Mammalia: Talpidae). Mammalian Biology 100, 2020, pp. 1-18, doi: 10.1007 / s42991-020-00010-4
- ↑ a b Kai He, Akio Shinohara, Kristofer M. Helgen, Mark S. Springer, Xue-Long Jiang and Kevin L. Campbell: Talpid Mole Phylogeny Unites Shrew Moles and Illuminates Overlooked Cryptic Species Diversity. Molecular Biology and Evolution 34 (1), 2016, pp. 78-87
- ↑ a b c Anna A. Bannikova, Elena D. Zemlemerova, Paolo Colangelo, Mustafa Sözen, M. Sevindik, Artem A. Kidov, Ruslan I. Dzuev, Boris Kryštufek and Vladimir S. Lebedev: An underground burst of diversity - a new look at the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Talpa Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Talpidae) as revealed by nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 175, 2015, pp. 930-948
- ↑ P. Colangelo, AA Bannikova, B. Kryštufek, VS Lebedev, F. Annesi, E. Capanna and A. Loy: Molecular systematics and evolutionary biogeography of the genus Talpa (Soricomorpha: Talpidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55, 2010, pp. 372-380