Russian desman

Russian desman
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Genus:	Desmana
Species:	D. moschata[1]
Binomial name
Desmana moschata[1] (Linnaeus, 1758)
Russian desman range
Synonyms
Castor moschatus Linnaeus, 1758

The Russian desman (Desmana moschata; Russian: выхухоль vykhukhol') is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia. Some authorities, citing old Soviet sources, claim the animal can be found in Eastern Ukraine and Northern Kazakhstan, but, as of 2020, the accuracy of such claims is disputed.^[3] It constructs burrows into the banks of ponds and slow-moving streams, but prefers small, overgrown ponds with abundance of insects, crayfish and amphibians. The Russian desman often lives in small groups of two to five animals, that are usually not related, and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and social system.^{[citation needed]}