Mexican mole

Not to be confused with Mexican mole lizard.

Mexican mole
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Talpidae
Genus: Scapanus
Species:
S. anthonyi
Binomial name
Scapanus anthonyi
Allen, 1893
Mexican mole range
Synonyms

Scapanus latimanus anthonyi

The Mexican mole (Scapanus anthonyi)[1] is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to Baja California in Mexico, where it is restricted to the highlands of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir mountain range. Its specific epithet references naturalist Alfred Webster Anthony.[2]

It was previously thought to be a subspecies of the broad-footed mole (S. latimanus, but has now been split into two different species, of which the southern taxon is S. occultus), but it was split as a distinct species in a 2005 study.[3] In 2021, a phylogenetic analysis confirmed its distinctiveness and found it to be the most basal member of the genus Scapanus.[4]

This species inhabits the Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests ecoregion. Although its habitat is protected, large amounts of cattle graze in the area and destroy mole galleries.[4]

  1. ^ "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  2. ^ Allen, J. A. (Joel Asaph); Thurber, E. C.; Anthony, A. W. (Alfred Webster) (1893). "On a collection of mammals from the San Pedro Martir region of Lower California : with notes on other species, particularly of the genus Sitomys. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 5, article 12". hdl:2246/798. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Yates, Terry L.; Jorge Salazar-Bravo (2004). "A Revision Of Scapanus latimanus, with the Revalidation of a Species Of Mexican Mole". In Sánchez-Cordero V.; Medellín R.A. (eds.). Contribuciones Mastozoológicas En Homenaje A Bernardo Villa (PDF). Instituto De Biología e Ins Tituto De Ecología, Unam, México. pp. 479–496.
  4. ^ a b Castañeda, Sergio Ticul Alvarez; Cortés-Calva, Patrica (2021-05-09). "Revision of moles in the genus Scapanus". THERYA. 12 (2): 275. doi:10.12933/therya-21-1174. ISSN 2007-3364. S2CID 236583289.