The Mexican mole (''Scapanus anthonyi'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of mammal 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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where it is restricted to the highlands of the

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir Sierra de San Pedro Mártir ( Kiliwa: ʔxaal haq, en, mountains of Saint Peter the Martyr) is a mountain range located within southern Ensenada Municipality and southern Baja California state, of northwestern Mexico. It is a major mountain ran ...

mountain range. Its specific epithet references naturalist Alfred Webster Anthony. 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. In 2021, a phylogenetic analysis confirmed its distinctiveness and found it to be the most basal member of the genus ''

Scapanus ''Scapanus'' is a genus of mole (animal), moles in the family Talpidae. They live in North America from west of the Rocky Mountains, Rockies south to Baja California, Baja California del Norte, and north to British Columbia, wherever conditions ...

''. This species inhabits the Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests ecoregion. Although its habitat is protected, large amounts of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

graze in the area and destroy mole galleries.

References

Scapanus Mammals of Mexico Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Mammals described in 1893 Taxa named by Joel Asaph Allen {{Talpidae-stub