The shrew moles or shrew-like moles (''Uropsilus'') are shrew-like members of the mole family of mammals

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 elsew ...

to the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed, high-alpine region bordering

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 ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and

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 ...

. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, external ears, and small forefeet unspecialized for burrowing. Although they are similar to

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different fa ...

s in size, external appearance, and, presumably, ecological habits, they are nevertheless talpids and considered true

moles Moles can refer to: * Moles de Xert, a mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain * The Moles (Australian band) *The Moles, alter ego of Scottish band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound People *Abraham Moles, French engin ...

, as they share a full

zygomatic arch In anatomy, the zygomatic arch, or cheek bone, is a part of the skull formed by the zygomatic process of the temporal bone (a bone extending forward from the side of the skull, over the opening of the ear) and the temporal process of the zygomati ...

with all other moles, while this arch is completely absent in shrews. The genus is the only one of the subfamily Uropsilinae, which is one of the three main subfamilies of Talpidae, the other two being

Talpinae The subfamily Talpinae, sometimes called "Old World moles" or "Old World moles and relatives", is one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Scalopinae, or New World moles, and the Uropsilinae, or shrew-like moles ...

, or Old World moles and relatives; and the

Scalopinae The Scalopinae, or New World moles, are one of three subfamilies of the family Talpidae, which consists of moles and mole-like animals; the other two subfamilies being the Old World talpids (the Talpinae) and the Chinese shrew-like moles (Uropsil ...

, or New World moles. Although little is currently known regarding any aspect of their natural history, the Uropsilinae are thought to be the most ancestral group of moles, and as such, very similar to the primitive talpid from which all Talpidae have evolved. ''Uropsilus'' is thought to be a

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

genus; despite the small distribution of the modern-day species, the subfamily once had a much wider range throughout

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

Species

The genus contains eight species: * Equivalent-teeth shrew mole (''U. aequodonenia'') *

Anderson's shrew mole The Anderson's shrew mole (''Uropsilus andersoni'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China. Its species name "''andersoni''" was chosen to honor American scientific collector Malcolm Playfair Anderson Malcolm Pl ...

(''U. andersoni'') * Black-backed shrew mole (''U. atronates'') * Dabie Mountains shrew mole (''U. dabieshanensis'') *

Gracile shrew mole The gracile shrew mole (''Uropsilus gracilis'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China; populations known from Myanmar likely represent other species (see below). The black-backed shrew mole (''U. atronates'') an ...

(''U. gracilis'') *

Inquisitive shrew mole The inquisitive shrew mole (''Uropsilus investigator'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is only known from Yunnan province of China, although its range is thought to extend over the border into Myanmar. A 2018 phylogenetic st ...

(''U. investigator'') * Snow Mountain shrew mole (''U. nivatus'') *

Chinese shrew mole The Chinese shrew mole (''Uropsilus soricipes'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; ...

(''U. soricipes'') Although each species' official English common name still calls them "shrew moles", ''Uropsilus'' today are referred to as "shrew-like moles" to distinguish them from other

shrew mole A shrew mole or shrew-mole is a mole that resembles a shrew. Species with this name include: * Five species in the subfamily Uropsilinae, or "shrew-like moles", native to China: ** Equivalent teeth shrew mole (''Uropsilus aequodonenia'') ** Ander ...

s, ''Neurotrichus gibbsii,'' of North America and the

Urotrichini Urotrichini is a tribe of the mole family, and consists of Japanese and American shrew-moles. They belong to the Old World moles and relatives branch of the mole family (Talpidae). There are only two species, each of which represents its own g ...

, or Japanese shrew moles, both of which are morphologically quite different from ''Uropsilus'' and are grouped with the Old World Moles and relatives. As a result, the term "shrew-like moles" has been used to refer to ''Uropsilus,'' although specific species are still called "shrew moles".

References

Uropsilus Mammal genera Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards {{talpidae-stub