Talpa transcaucasica

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Talpa transcaucasica
Systematics
Order : Insect eater (Eulipotyphla)
Family : Moles (Talpidae)
Subfamily : Old World Moles (Talpinae)
Tribe : Actual moles (Talpini)
Genre : Eurasian moles ( Talpa )
Type : Talpa transcaucasica
Scientific name
Talpa transcaucasica
Dahl , 1944

Talpa transcaucasica is a species of mammal from the mole family(Talpidae) within the order of the insectivores (Eulipotyphla). It occurs in the Caucasus region and adjacent areas. Here he lives in higher mountain areas and often uses forests as habitats. Outwardly, the species resembles the European mole . However, it does not reach their physical size, has eyes covered with skin and has a comparatively small skull. The animals live underground in self-dug passages and feed on invertebrates , often on caterpillars . Reproduction takes place once a year. The form was introduced as early as 1944, but for a long time it was considered identical to the Levantine mole . It was only genetic studies in the 2010s that led to the finding that both representatives represent separate species. The recognition of Talpa transcaucasica as kind took place in 2020.

features

Habitus

Talpa transcaucasica is a small representative of the Eurasian mole. In animals from the Caucasus region, the head-trunk length is 10.4 to 12.1 cm, the tail is 2.05 to 3.38 cm long and the weight varies from 37 to 50 g. For individuals from the area adjacent to the north, the values ​​are 8.2 to 10.6 cm, 1.7 to 3.1 cm and 21 to 31 g, respectively. As a result, there is a certain variation in body size, as animals from the mountain area are up to 85% heavier than those from the flatter landscapes to the north. Comparable to other Eurasian moles, Talpa transcaucasica has a cylindrical and robust body, the neck is short and the front feet are shaped like a shovel. The fur has a silky sheen. On the back it is colored gray-black, the underside is a bit lighter. In adult individuals, a chestnut-brown to reddish-brown stripe appears in the genital area . There is sometimes a lighter shade on the chin. The eyes are covered with skin. The hind feet are 1.42 to 1.75 cm long, the front feet are 1.2 to 1.68 cm long and 1.36 to 1.65 cm wide. Females have eight teats .

Skull and dentition features

The skull measures 26.7 to 31.8 mm in length and 12.8 to 15.0 mm in width. The skull length is on average 26.8% of the body length. This makes it relatively smaller than the Caucasian mole ( Talpa caucasica ), whose skull length is around 30%. It is also narrower. Another separating criterion can be found in the very narrow rostrum . At the height of the incisors , the width is 2.8 to a maximum of 4.1 mm, at the molars it is 10.1 to 11.0 mm. The upper first molar usually has a point at its mesostyle, a small cusp between the two main cusps on the lip side (Paraconus and Metaconus) and thus corresponds to the ratio of the Levantine Mole ( Talpa levantis ). The total length of the upper row of teeth ranges from 10.5 to 11.7 mm.

Genetic traits

The diploid chromosome set is 2n = 34. There are 1 acrocentric, 2 submetacentric and 13 metacentric pairs of chromosomes. The X chromosome is metacentric, the Y chromosome speckled.

distribution and habitat

The distribution area of Talpa transcaucasica is in the southern part of Eastern Europe and in the northern part of Western Asia . It includes the European section of Russia south of the Kuban and Terek, as well as Georgia , Armenia , western Azerbaijan and the northeastern part of Turkey . In Armenia the species penetrates south to Lake Sevan . Numerous different habitats are occupied, each coupled to thick and well-moistened soils. The animals are often found in oak - beech forests, in Azerbaijan also in hornbeam-beech forests at an altitude of 1550 to 1870 m. Up to 42 individuals can then occur here on one hectare . In general, the altitudinal distribution ranges up to 2400 m, above the tree line is Talpa transcaucasica but rarely encountered and confined to moist depressions. The animals are also less common at lower altitudes, where the Ognev mole ( Talpa ognevi ) lives. Talpa transcaucasica is partly dependent on water, so that the species can be observed in river and stream valleys as well as on lake banks. There is a sympathy for the Caucasian mole . Both representatives of the Eurasian moles are observed in the northern Caucasus region at the same sites, but the latter occurs in larger numbers.

Way of life

Overall, only a few data are available on the way of life of Talpa transcaucasica . The animals dig deeper and near-surface tunnels. In subalpine meadow landscapes, the corridors near the surface are 10 to 15 cm deeper than in forests, where they often run only a few centimeters below the surface. The deeper tunnels extend about 50 cm into the ground. Frequent activities take place in the early morning between 5:00 and 7:00 and in the evening. Remains of insects were found in around 96% of the stomach contents examined from the Caucasus, and in 62% also of earthworms . In the case of the Caucasian mole, earthworms dominate the food spectrum. Very often eats Talpa transcaucasica this track , especially owls butterflies . In general, larval stages of insects predominate over adult individuals.

Reproduction occurs once a year. In the northern Caucasus, births take place between February and March. However, they can start earlier in more southerly areas with milder temperatures. Usually a female gives birth to two to five young per litter, an average of 3.7. The growth rate is relatively high. By late May, young animals are on average 93.7 mm long and weigh around 34 g. In early July, the local population in the western Caucasus consists of around 58% young animals. Sexual maturity is reached at around eleven months. Life expectancy is a maximum of seven years.

Systematics

Internal systematics of the Eurasian moles according to Demırtaş et al. 2020
 Talpa  


 Talpa altaica


   

 Talpa ognevi


   

 Talpa caucasica




   


 Talpa talyschensis


   

 Talpa davidiana



   

 Talpa caeca


   

 Talpa stankovici


   

 Talpa transcaucasica


   

 Talpa levantis



   

 Talpa romana


   

 Talpa martinorum


   


 Talpa occidentalis


   

 Talpa aquitania



   

 Talpa europaea





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Talpa transcaucasica is a kind from the genus of the Eurasian moles ( Talpa ). The genus consists of around a dozen other members, the most famous being the European mole ( Talpa europaea ). The Eurasian moles represent a part of the tribe of the actual moles (Talpini) and the family of the moles (Talpidae). The tribe in turn combines the mostly burrowing forms of the moles, while other members of the family only partially live underground, moving above ground or have a semi-aquatic way of life.

The first scientific description of Talpa transcaucasica was published by Sergej Konstantinowitsch Dahl in 1944. In this, he referred to the new form as Talpa europaea transcaucasica and thus a subspecies of the European mole. The description is based on more than 50 individuals, the holotype is a fully grown male with fur and a length of 11.8 cm. It comes from near the village of Lermontowo (formerly Voskresenovka) in the Armenian province of Lori . This type region belongs to the Pambak Mountains , where the specimen copy was collected in mid-1940 at an altitude of 1845 m. Dahl emphasized the small body size and the small skull as special features.

In the period that followed, NK Deparma introduced Talpa caeca minima from 1959, another form of small mole. The individuals on which the description is based come from the course of the Belaja near Tulski south of Krasnodar . The main area of ​​distribution is therefore more in the western Caucasus than in the central Caucasus of Talpa transcaucasisa . Compared to this, the animals with a body length of 8.2 to 11.2 cm are also somewhat smaller. Ivo Grulich then combined the small Caucasian moles with the Levantine mole ( Talpa levantis ) in 1972, citing similar skull features . This occurs in the coastal areas of the Black Sea in northern Turkey , but at that time it was classified as a subspecies of the blind mole ( Talpa caeca ). One year later, Heinz Felten and colleagues investigated the small mammals of Anatolia and raised the Levantine mole at the species level and thus also transferred the Caucasian small moles to Talpa levantis . This situation then remained largely the same. However, some Russian scientists differentiated up to three subspecies within the Caucasian-Eastern strain of the Levantine mole, mostly based on variations in body size. This also includes Talpa levantis cabardinicus , a small form that was described in 1989 by Ruslan I. Dzuev from the central Caucasus.

Molecular genetic studies from the 2010s made a major contribution to clarifying the relationships between the Eurasian moles. Accordingly, there is no direct connection between the Levantine mole and the blind mole. Both forms belong to a western group that includes most of the European moles of the genus Talpa . Within this, the Levantine mole and the Balkan mole ( Talpa stankovici ) form a basal group. The former type split off in the Pliocene around 3.8 million years ago. The genetic data also indicated a very close relationship between the small moles of the Caucasus region and the Anatolian Black Sea coast. However, the two groups are separated from one another by a deep temporal gap that goes back to the end of the Pliocene, about 2.68 million years ago. The resulting long lines of development advocated a species separation of the two populations . At the time of the investigation, in 2015, Anna A. Bannikova's editors could not consider any individuals from the type locality of the Levantine mole near Trabzon in northeastern Turkey. Since it was unclear whether the Levantine mole represented the eastern group in the Caucasus region or the western group in the Black Sea region, the authors of the study omitted an official separation. The problem was only clarified in a further genetic study in 2020. Here, the animals of the type region of the Levantine mole were clearly more closely related to the moles of the North Anatolian Black Sea region. The Levantine mole was consequently restricted to northern Anatolia and the small moles of the Caucasus region were separated out as Talpa transcaucasica . The species designation is owed to the name priority .

According to the genetic data from 2015, Talpa transcaucasica can possibly be split into further subgroups at the subspecies level. There is a clear difference between the forms of southern Russia from the Adygeja region and the northern Caucasus ( Armenia and Kabardino-Balkaria ) with a genetic difference of 3%. Thus, T. t. minima can be understood as a possible subspecies.

Threat and protection

Talpa transcaucasica is not listed by the IUCN , but is listed within the Levantine Mole . From the point of view of the nature conservation organization, this is considered “not threatened” ( least concern ). In Russia , Talpa transcaucasica is on the national red list.

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 (pp. 610-611) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  • М. В. Зайцев, Л. Л. Войта and Б. И. Шефтель: Млекопитающие фауны России и сопредельных территорий. Насекомоядные. Санкт-Петербург, 2014, pp. 1–390 (pp. 145–149)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Сергей Константинович Даль: Мелкие пушные звери Памбакского хребта. Зоологический Сборник Зоологический Институт Академия Наук Армянской ССР 3, 1944, pp. 47-69 ( [1] )
  2. ↑ a b c d Ivo Grulich: A contribution to the knowledge of the Eastern Mediterranean small, blind mole forms (Talpinae). Zoologické listy 21, 1972, pp. 3–21 ( [2] )
  3. ↑ a b c d e 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 (pp. 610-611) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h М. В. Зайцев, Л. Л. Войта and Б. И. Шефтель: Млекопитающие фауны России и сопредельных территорий. Насекомоядные. Санкт-Петербург, 2014, pp. 1–390 (pp. 145–149)
  5. ↑ М. В. Зайцев: Вопросы диагностики и систематики кротов Кавказа (Insectivora, Talpidae, Talpa). Зоологический Журнал 78 (6), 1999, pp. 718-731
  6. ↑ Р. И. Дзуев, В. Г. Иванов and А. К. Темботов: Кариологические исследования кротов северного Кавказа. Бюллетень Московского общества испытателей природы 77, 1972, pp. 33-36
  7. ↑ 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
  8. ↑ a b c 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
  9. ↑ 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
  10. ↑ Heinz Felten, Friederike Spitzenberger and Gerhard Storch: To the small mammal fauna of West Anatolia. Part II. Senckenbergiana biologica 54 (4/6), 1973, pp. 227–290 (pp. 230–232)
  11. ^ Anna A. Bannikova and Vladimir S. Lebedev: Order Eulipotyphla. In: IY Pavlinov and AA Lissovsky (Eds.): The Mammals of Russia: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Moscow, 2012, pp. 25-72
  12. ^ Boris Kryštufek: The distribution of the Levant Mole, Talpa levantis. Zoology in the Middle East 23 (1), 2001, pp. 17-21
  13. ^ Boris Kryštufek and Vladimír Vohralík: Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus. Introduction, Checklist, Insectivora. Koper, 2001, pp. 1–140 (pp. 100–102)
  14. ↑ Boris Kryštufek: Skull analysis of small blind moles from Turkey and Iran. Folia Zoologica 50 (1), 2001, pp. 19-25 ( [3] )
  15. ↑ 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
  16. ↑ Jean-Pierre Hugot, Se Hun Gu, Carlos Feliu, Jacint Ventura, Alexis Ribas, Jérôme Dormion, Richard Yanagihara and Violaine Nicolas: Genetic variability of Talpa europaea and Nova hantavirus (NVAV) in France. Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France 167 (3), 2014, pp. 177-184
  17. ↑ 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
  18. ^ N. Yigit and B. Kryštufek: Talpa levantis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. e.T41482A22321127 ( [4] ); last accessed on May 27, 2020