Desmanini^[1] Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Russian desman (Desmana moschata)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Subfamily:	Talpinae
Tribe:	Desmanini Thomas, 1912

Desmans are diving insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole family, Talpidae.

This tribe consists of two extant monotypic genera of semiaquatic insectivores found in Europe: one in Russia and the other in the northwest of the Iberian peninsula and Pyrenees. Both species are endangered, the Russian desman critically so.^[2]^[3] They have webbed paws and their front paws are not well-adapted for digging. Desmans were much more diverse and widespread during the Miocene, with two genera, Gaillardia and Magnatalpa, being present in North America.^[4]^[5] Both living species are thought to have derived from the fossil genus Archaeodesmana.^[6]

Species

Further information: List of talpids

Genus Desmana
- Russian desman (D. moschata)
- †Desmana kowalskae^[5]
- †Desmana nehringi^[5]
- †Desmana inflata^[5]
- †Desmana thermalis^[5]
- †Desmana marci^[5]
Genus Galemys
- Pyrenean desman (G. pyrenaicus)
Genus †Asthenoscapter Miocene, Europe^[7]
Genus †Archaeodesmana Miocene-Pliocene, Europe
Genus †Desmanella Miocene, Europe^[8]^[9]
Genus †Gaillardia Miocene, North America
Genus †Mygalinia Late Miocene, Hungary
Genus †Magnatalpa Miocene-Pliocene, North America^[5]
Genus †Ruemkelia^[10]

Gallery

In the media

Morelle, Rebecca (2012-09-04). "Pyrenean desman: On the trail of Europe's weirdest beast". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2012-09-05. video report
"Russians rally for water mammal". BBC News Online. 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2012-09-05.

References

^ Hutterer, R. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ Quaglietta, L. (2022) [amended version of 2021 assessment]. "Galemys pyrenaicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T8826A214429993. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8826A214429993.en.
^ Rutovskaya, M.; Gazzard, A.; Turvey, S.T. (2023). "Desmana moschata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T6506A231334630.
^ Martin, James E. (2017). "A rare occurrence of the fossil water mole Gaillardia (Desmanini, Talpidae) from the Neogene in North America" (PDF). Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science. 96: 95–98.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Oberg, Danielle; Samuels, Joshua (2022). "Fossil moles from the Gray Fossil Site (Tennessee): Implications for diversification and evolution of North American Talpidae". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/1150. S2CID 91857382.
^ Minwer-Barakat, Raef; García-Alix, Antonio; Martín-Suárez, Elvira; Freudenthal, Matthijs (2020-12-01). "Early Pliocene Desmaninae (Mammalia, Talpidae) from Southern Spain and the Origin of the Genus Desmana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (5): e1835936. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E5936M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 228905970.
^ Hutchison, John Howard (1974). "Notes on type specimens of European Miocene Talpidae and a tentative classification of old world Tertiary Talpidae (Insectivora: Mammalia)". Geobios. 7 (3): 211–256. Bibcode:1974Geobi...7..211H. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(74)80009-4.
^ Meier, Patricia; Bickelmann, Constanze; Scheyer, Torsten; Koyabu, Daisuke; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo (2013). "Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 55. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-55. PMC 3599842. PMID 23442022.
^ "Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini".
^ Rzebik-Kowalska, Barbara; Pawłowski, Jerzy. "Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829)". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia.