''Scapanus'' is a
genus of
moles in the family
Talpidae. They live in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
from west of the
Rockies south to
Baja California del Norte, and north to
British Columbia, wherever conditions permit a mole population; that is to say, apart from the most sandy, rocky, or developed places. As they are one genus, they are very closely related, but as species, they rarely if ever interbreed successfully.
It contains the following living species:
*
Mexican mole (''S. anthonyi'')
*
Northern broad-footed mole (''S. latimanus'')
*
Southern broad-footed mole (''S. occultus'')
*
Coast mole (''S. orarius'')
*
Townsend's mole (''S. townsendii'')
In addition, there are several extinct species known from fossils.
*''Scapanus hagermanensis'' (
Mid Blancan stage,
Idaho)
*''Scapanus malatinus'' (
Blancan
The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years Before Present, BP, a period of . -
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
, California)
[.]
*''Scapanus proceridens'' (
Miocene, Oregon and Idaho)
*''Scapanus shultzi'' (Miocene, California and Oregon)
Distribution
Townsend's mole is primarily a
Californian mole, although its range spills over into neighboring states. The broad-footed mole lives primarily in western
Oregon,
Washington, and southwestern
British Columbia, where it often overlaps the smaller range of the Pacific or
coast mole, which, as the name implies, does not tend to range as far inland. The broad-footed is one of the largest and most powerful moles, while the coast mole is a quite average-sized mole.
References
''Scapanus'' IUCN
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2091646
Scapanus
Mammal genera
Mammals of North America
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot