The shrew moles or shrew-like moles (''Uropsilus'') are shrew-like members of the mole family of mammals endemic to the forested, 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. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, external ears, and small forefeet unspecialized for burrowing. Although they are similar to shrews in size, external appearance, and, presumably, ecological habits, they are nevertheless talpids and considered true moles, as they share a full zygomatic arch 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, or Old World moles and relatives; and the Scalopinae, 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 genus; despite the small distribution of the modern-day species, the subfamily once had a much wider range throughout Eurasia.

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 The black-backed shrew mole (''Uropsilus atronates'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to China, where it is only known from the vicinity of Mucheng in Yunnan Province. It was formerly considered synonymous with the ...

(''U. atronates'') *

Dabie Mountains shrew mole The Dabie Mountains shrew mole (''Uropsilus dabieshanensis'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to Anhui Province in China, where, as its name suggests, it is only known from the Dabie Mountains. Phylogenetic evidence ...

(''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 The Snow Mountain shrew mole (''Uropsilus nivatus'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is native to Yunnan Province in China and potentially Myanmar. Its common name references Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which is the type localit ...

(''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, 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