Talpa martinorum
| Talpa martinorum | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Talpa martinorum | ||||||||||||
| Kryštufek , Nedyalkov , Astrin & Hutterer , 2018 |
Talpa martinorum is a species of mammal from the mole family(Talpidae) within the order of the insectivores (Eulipotyphla). It is a medium-sized representative of the mole, which in its external appearanceis similar tothe European mole , but is smaller. The main differences are found in individual tooth features. The animals are found in Thrace on the southwest coast of the Black Sea . They inhabit meadow landscapes, arable land and wooded areas in the hilly mountainous country. Originally, the animals of the region were assigned to other representatives of the moles. However, genetic studies from 2018 showed that they are an independent species.
features
Habitus
Talpa martinorum is a medium-sized representative of the Eurasian moles . The head-trunk length varies between 12.4 and 13.4 cm, plus a 2.4 to 3.2 cm long tail. The body weight ranges from 52.5 to 65.8 g. In its body proportions, the species resembles the European mole ( Talpa europaea ), but it is slightly smaller. The tail is rather short at 18 to 26% of the length of the rest of the body. It is covered by a black, thick fur coat consisting of up to 6.5 mm long, bristle-like hair. The body hair is also dense and also silky. The hair on the back is 7 to 8 mm long, the hair on the underside is slightly shorter at 4.5 to 6 mm. The fur has a black color on the top, it is slightly lighter on the underside and interspersed with slate shadows. In some individuals there is an irregularly shaped, yellowish-brown stripe on the rear abdomen. The hair around the eyes is shorter and lighter in color, the fissure of the eyelids is covered by a transparent skin. The muzzle is flesh-colored, a triangular, bare strip of skin appears behind the nasal mirror , the tip of which points backwards. The hind feet are 15.0 to 17.4 mm long.
Skull and dentition features
The skull becomes 30.3 to 33.1 mm long. In principle, it does not show any special characteristics that differ from other Eurasian moles. The rostrum is rather robust, its width on the canines is 13.3 to 14.5% of the length of the skull, on the molars it is 25.4 to 27.7%. The skull is rather high. The incisors decrease in size towards the rear, with the front being twice as large as the rear. The molars are relatively large, which is also true of the rearmost upper molar. Their chewing surfaces consist of characteristic pointed cusps. The mesostyle, a small hump between two of the high main humps (Paraconus and Metaconus) is weakly two-pointed, while this has only one tip in the European mole and Talpa aquitania , whereas it has two tips in the Iberian mole ( Talpa occidentalis ). The parastyle, a small side hump in front of the paraconus, which occurs in almost all other representatives of the Eurasian mole, is also missing on the first upper molar.
distribution
The range of Talpa martinorum includes the region of Thrace on the southwest coast of the Black Sea . It extends in the north from the Strandscha Mountains near Burgas in Bulgaria to the south to Istranca near Istanbul in the European part of Turkey . The animals are mainly found in moderately humid meadow landscapes and orchards on red, well-drained soils in hilly regions. In addition, they colonize arable land on dark soils, flat flood plains and oak forests and alluvial forests . The altitude distribution extends to around 445 m above sea level. Talpa martinorum occurs allopatric to the European mole, which has developed the plains further west, in northwestern Anatolia the Levantine mole ( Talpa levantis ) is common.
Way of life
In its way of life, Talpa martinorum is similar to the other Eurasian moles. The animals dig underground burrows and leave behind characteristic molehills.
Systematics
|
Internal systematics of the Eurasian moles according to Demırtaş et al. 2020
|
Talpa martinorum is a kind from the genus of the Eurasian moles ( Talpa ) are counted in the more more than a dozen. The Eurasian moles in turn form part of the tribe of the actual moles (Talpini) within the family of moles (Talpidae). The actual moles include the mostly burrowing representatives of the moles, other members of the family only partially live underground, move above ground or have a semi-aquatic way of life.
The best-known form of the genus Talpa is the European mole ( Talpa europaea ), which is widespread across the European continent. The animals of southeastern Europe were more frequently associated with the Levantine mole or the blind mole ( Talpa caeca ). On the other hand, molecular genetic studies from 2018 showed that the population there is closer to the European mole, the Iberian mole ( Talpa occidentalis ) or the Aquitaine mole ( Talpa aquitania ). A new species was then established with Talpa martinorum . The first scientific description was presented by a research team led by Boris Kryštufek . A young, fully grown female is used as the holotype , which was collected in April 2017 by the lead author on a meadow near Zvezdets in the Strandscha Mountains . The region forms the type area of the species. The specific epithet martinorum refers to Wladimir Emmanuelowitsch Martino and Evgenia Weniaminowna Martino (formerly Stepanowa), who, both of Russian descent , fled to southeastern Europe in the 1920s and only returned to their homeland three decades later. They initiated the study of the mammalian fauna of the Balkans and also described several species.
The close relationship of Talpa martinorum to the European mole and some Western European endemics, as well as the limited relationships to other local forms such as the Balkan mole ( Talpa stakovici ), suggest that the Thracian species originated from a peripheral population of the European mole. It is possible that this process took place in the Old Pleistocene , as suggested by genetic data. At the same time, it can be assumed that the Southeast European mole populations do not recruit from immigrants beyond the Bosporus , since a traversable land bridge only existed during the Middle Pleistocene . However, further genetic tests must be carried out to substantiate the views, as the moles of the Bosporus region have not been included in such analyzes until now.
literature
- Boris Kryštufek, Nedko Nedyalkov, Jonas J. Astrin and Rainer Hutterer: News from the Balkan refugium: Thrace has an endemic mole species (Mammalia: Talpidae). Bonn zoological Bulletin 67 (1), 2018, pp. 41–57 ( [1] )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Boris Kryštufek, Nedko Nedyalkov, Jonas J. Astrin and Rainer Hutterer: News from the Balkan refugium: Thrace has an endemic mole species (Mammalia: Talpidae). Bonn zoological Bulletin 67 (1), 2018, pp. 41–57
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ^ Vasil V. Popov and Bojan Miltchev: New Data on Morphology and Distribution of Talpa levantis Thomas, 1906 (Mammalia: Insectivora) in Bulgaria. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 53 (3), 2001, pp. 79-95