A new species of the mole genus Talpa has been identified in eastern Türkiye (Turkey) by a team of reseachers from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Indiana University and the University of Plymouth.
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Talpa hakkariensis, holotype. Image credit: Gündüz et al., doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad049.
Talpa, a genus in the mole family Talpidae, currently contains over 10 living species, found primarily in Europe and western Asia.
The European mole (Talpa europaea), found throughout most of Europe, is a member of the genus, as are several species restricted to small ranges.
One of the species, the Père David’s mole (Talpa davidiana), is data deficient.
“Talpa is a fossorial mole genus endemic to the western Palaearctic region, found primarily in Europe and western Asia,” said Ondokuz Mayıs University scientist İslam Gündüz and colleagues.
“Some species are widespread, but many have narrower endemic ranges, particularly in the east.”
“Nine species were recognized in the subgenus Talpa, and the Altai mole (Talpa altaica), often placed in the monospecific subgenus Asioscalops.”
“The conservative morphology of the genus means that the number of Talpa lineages has been underestimated from morphological differences, prompting a series of molecular studies.”
“Türkiye hosts six of the 14 currently recognized Talpa species,” they added.
“Of these, Talpa davidiana remains one of the least known, being listed as Data Deficient by IUCN, with limited information available on its distribution, population status, or possible threats.”
“Based on newly collected, almost topotypical, material of Talpa davidiana, together with moles from other areas of the supposed Turkish distribution of this species and a re-examination of types, we show that Talpa davidiana includes four distinct taxa, diagnosable as phylogenetic species using both molecules and morphology.”
“Two of these are currently unnamed, described herein as Talpa hakkariensis and Talpa davidiana tatvanensis, respectively.”
Talpa hakkariensis is a relatively large, heavy mole with a medium tail. It has a body mass of 74 g, a head and body length of 16 cm and a tail length of 3.1 cm.
The species is known from a handful of geographically close localities in the mountains of Hakkari province, Türkiye.
“Moles were collected from moist soils beside a mountain stream at Cemşililan yaylası, in Eastern Anatolian Montane Steppe subject to nomadic grazing, but otherwise with little human influence. Most of the precipitation in this region falls as winter snows,” the scientists said.
“At Bilmizit yaylası, specimen was collected in a similar habitat, but in this case without surface water.”
Talpa davidiana tatvanensis is a medium-sized mole with a relatively large skull and a stout, broad, rostrum.
It has a body mass of 45 g, a head and body length of 13.7 cm, and a tail length of 1.7 cm.
The subspecies is known from only the vicinity of Tatvan, Bitlis Province, Türkiye, close to Van Gölü.
“Our work substantially improves our understanding of Eurasian moles and increases the number of extant taxa recognized in the genus Talpa to 18 (16 species, plus two subspecies),” the authors said.
“Since 2005, the number of recognized taxa has, therefore, doubled, and we have no doubt that further investigations will reveal additional diversity in this genus, particularly in Western Asia, where a combination of climatic and topographical heterogeneity appears to have resulted in extensive diversification in these animals.”
The findings were published in the November 2023 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
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İslam Gündüz et al. 2023. Notes from the Anatolian underground: two new mole taxa from Eastern Turkey, together with a revised phylogeny of the genus Talpa (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Talpidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199 (3) 567-593; doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad049
