Revision of the mole genus<i>Mogera</i>(Mammalia: Lipotyphla: Talpidae) from Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract We surveyed the central mountains and southeastern region of Taiwan and collected 11 specimens of a new species of mole, genus Mogera. The specimens were characterized by a small body size, dark fur, a protruding snout, and a long tail; these characteristics are distinct from those of the Taiwanese lowland mole, M. insularis (Swinhoe, 1862). A phylogenetic study of morphological, karyological and molecular characters revealed that Taiwanese moles should be classified as two distinctive species: M. insularis from the northern and western lowlands and the new species from the central mountains and the east and south of Taiwan. The skull of the new species was slender and delicate compared to that of M. insularis. Although the karyotypes of two species were identical, the genetic distance between them was sufficient to justify considering each as a separate species. Here, we present a detailed specific description of the new species and discuss the relationship between this species and M. insularis based on ecological characteristics and geographic distributions. Keywords: Talpidae Mogera molemorphologykaryotypemolecular phylogeny Notes Corresponding author. Email: lklin <lklin@thu.edu.tw>