Kuznetsov's mole (''Euroscaptor kuznetsovi'') is a species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

in the family

Talpidae The family Talpidae () includes the moles (some of whom are called shrew moles and desmans) who are small insectivorous mammals of the order Eulipotyphla. Talpids are all digging animals to various degrees: moles are completely subterranean a ...

. It is found in northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It was named after Russian mammalogist German V. Kuznetsov of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

Taxonomy

''E. kuznetsovi'', alongside

Orlov's mole Orlov's mole (''Euroscaptor orlovi'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is known from northern Vietnam, southern China, and possibly Laos. It was named after Russian zoologist Nikolai L. Orlov of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ...

(''E. orlovi''), was formerly considered a population of the

long-nosed mole The long-nosed mole (''Euroscaptor longirostris'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, where it has a widespread distribution. Orlov's mole (''E. orlovi'') and Kuznetsov's mole (''E. kuznetsovi''), both of wh ...

(''E. longirostris''), but a 2016 study found sufficient genetic divergence to split the populations as distinct species, with the Red River serving as the main geographical barrier leading to ''E. kuznetsovi'''s divergence. It is the

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to ''E. orlovi''.

Distribution

It has been recorded from northeastern

in Vĩnh Phúc and

Cao Bằng Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the 2 ...

provinces, at elevations of 750 to 950 meters

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. A record from

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

in southeastern

also likely belongs to this species. It is found east of the Red River.

Description

It is a large-sized mole comparable to ''E. longirostris'' and ''E. orlovi'' in size. Morphologically, it can be distinguished by its large, club-shaped tail, larger skull size, short molar rows, and wider

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q46310095 Euroscaptor Mammals of Vietnam Mammals of China Mammals described in 2016