
Belongs within: Eulipotyphla.
Contains: Talpini.
The Talpidae, moles, are burrowing lipotyphlans found in Eurasia and North America. Moles have a unique digging mode, where the humerus rotates around its long axis. This means that the hands move laterally alongside the body, rather than underneath it as in other animals. As well as the familiar subterranean species, the family also includes the aquatic desmans (Desmaninae) and the shrew-like Uropsilus. Species of Uropsilus, found in eastern Asia, are not strongly specialised for burrowing and have been suggested to occupy a basal position in mole phylogeny. Another contender for this position is the American shrew mole Neurotrichus gibbsii, found in the Pacific northwest of North America, which is also the smallest living member of the family. Talpids are first known in the fossil record by the Late Eocene Eotalpa from the UK; they are not known from North America until the Miocene (Butler 1988).
<==Talpidae [Myaladae, Orycteri, Talpomorpha] |--Oreotalpa florissantensisMJ11, HUG17 |--Eotalpa Sige et al. 1977MJ11, SM93 | `--E. belgicaOB13 `--+--Neurotrichus Günther 1880FS15, V67 | `--N. gibbsiiFS15 `--+--Scaptonyx Milne-Edwards 1872FS15, P04 [Scaptonychini] | |--S. dolichochirA05 | |--S. edwardsiA05 | `--S. fusicaudusFS15 `--+--+--Scapanulus Thomas 1912FS15, V67 | | `--S. oweniFS15 | `--+--Parascalops True 1894FS15, V67 | | `--P. breweriFS15 | `--Scalopinae [Scalopini, Scapanei]MJ11 | |--Scapanus Pomel 1848 [=Scapaneus Winge 1917]V67 | | |--S. latimanusFS15 | | `--+--S. orariusFS15 | | `--S. townsendiiFS15 | `--Scalopus Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 1803FS15, V67 (see below for synonymy) | `--S. aquaticusFS15 | |--S. a. aquaticusB75 | |--S. a. caryiF68 | |--S. a. machrinoides Jackson 1914B75 | `--S. a. machrinusB75 `--TalpinaeMJ11 |--UrotrichiniHO01 | |--Dymecodon True 1886V67 | | `--D. pilirostrisFS15 | |--Myxomygale Filhol 1890HO01, V67 | |--Urotrichus Temminck 1841FS15, V67 | | |--U. pilirostrisIT07 | | `--U. talpoidesFS15 | |--Paratalpa Lavocat 1951MJ11, V67 | |--Domninoides Green 1956V67 | |--Mydecodon Wilson 1960V67 | |--Scalopoides Wilson 1960V67 | `--Proscapanus Gaillard 1899 [=Proscapaneus Winge 1917]V67 | `--P. sansaniensisA05 `--+--TalpiniFS15 `--+--Desmaninae [Myogalina]B88 | |--Mygalea Schreuder 1940V67 | |--Mygalinea Schreuder 1940V67 | |--Gaillardia Matthew 1932 [incl. Hydroscapheus Shotwell 1956; Gaillardiinae]V67 | |--Geomana Brunner 1957V67 | |--Desmagale Kretzoi 1954V67 | |--LemoyneaG88 | |--Desmana Gueldenstaedt 1777FS15, P04 (see below for synonymy) | | `--D. moschataFS15 | `--Galemys Kaup 1829 [=Galomys Agassiz 1846; incl. Mygalina Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 1835]V67 | `--G. pyrenaicusFS15 `--+--Condylura Illiger 1811FS15, P04 (see below for synonymy) | `--C. cristata (Linnaeus 1758)B75 `--UropsilinaeHO01 |--Asthenoscaptor Hutchinson 1974HO01 |--Mygatalpa Schreuder 1940HO01, V67 |--DesmanellaHO01 |--Mystipterus Hall 1930HO01, V67 |--Theratiskos Hoek Ostende 2001HO01 | |--*T. mechteldae Hoek Ostende 2001HO01 | `--T. rutgeri Hoek Ostende 2001HO01 `--Uropsilus Milne Edwards 1872FS15, V67 (see below for synonymy) |--U. andersoniFS15 |--U. gracilisFS15 |--U. investigatorFS15 |--U. moschatusHUG17 `--U. soricipesFS15 Talpidae incertae sedis: Nesoscaptor uchidaiIT07 Camphotherium Filhol 1884V67 [=ComphotheriumV67, Gomphotherium non Burmeister 1837M66] Galeospalax Pomel 1848V67 Hyporyssus Pomel 1848V67 Scaptogale Trouessart 1879 [incl. Echinogale Pomel 1848 non Wagner 1841]V67 Suleimania Hoek Ostende 2001 [Suleimaninae]HO01 `--*S. ruemkae Hoek Ostende 2001HO01 Veratalpa Ameghino 1905A05 `--*V. lugdunensiana Ameghino 1905A05 DesmanodonHO01
Condylura Illiger 1811FS15, P04 [incl. Astromycter Harris 1825V67, Rhinaster Wagler 1830V67, Talpasorex Schinz 1821V67; Condylurini]
Desmana Gueldenstaedt 1777FS15, P04 [=Desman Lacépède 1799V67, Desmanus Rafinesque 1815V67; incl. Caprios Wagler 1830V67, Mygale Cuvier 1800V67, Myogale Brandt 1836V67, Myogalea Fischer 1829V67, Palaeospalax Owen 1846V67]
Scalopus Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 1803FS15, V67 [=Scalops Illiger 1811V67; incl. Hesperoscalops Hibbard 1941V67, Talpasorex Lesson 1827 non Schinz 1821V67]
Uropsilus Milne Edwards 1872FS15, V67 [incl. Nasillus Thomas 1911V67, Rhynchonax Thomas 1912V67; UropsilinaeMJ11]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
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