Desman Explained

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

This tribe consists of two living species found in Europe: the Russian desman (Desmana moschata) in European Russia, and the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees. Both species are endangered, the Russian desman critically so.^{[1] [2]} 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.^[3] Both living species are thought to have derived from the fossil genus Archaeodesmana.^[4]

Species

• Genus Desmana
  • Russian desman (D. moschata)
  • †Desmana kowalskae
  • †Desmana nehringi
  • †Desmana inflata
  • †Desmana thermalis
  • †Desmana marci
• Genus Galemys
  • Pyrenean desman (G. pyrenaicus)
• Genus †Asthenoscapter Miocene, Europe^[5]
• Genus †Archaeodesmana Miocene-Pliocene, Europe
• Genus †Desmanella Miocene, Europe^{[6] [7]}
• Genus †Gaillardia Miocene, North America
• Genus †Mygalinia Late Miocene, Hungary
• Genus †Magnatalpa Miocene-Pliocene, North America^[8]
• Genus †Ruemkelia^[9]

In the media

• News: Rebecca . Morelle . Rebecca Morelle . Pyrenean desman: On the trail of Europe's weirdest beast . . 2012-09-04 . video report . 2012-09-05.
• News: Russians rally for water mammal . . 2006-06-09 . 2012-09-05.

Notes and References

1. Quaglietta, L. . 2022 . 2021 . Galemys pyrenaicus . e.T8826A214429993 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8826A214429993.en.
2. Rutovskaya, M. . Gazzard, A. . Turvey, S.T. . 2023 . Desmana moschata . e.T6506A231334630 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T6506A231334630.en.
3. Martin. James E.. 2017. A rare occurrence of the fossil water mole Gaillardia (Desmanini, Talpidae) from the Neogene in North America. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science. 96. 95–98.
4. 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. en. 40. 5. e1835936. 10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936. 2020JVPal..40E5936M . 228905970 . 0272-4634.
5. 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 . 10.1016/s0016-6995(74)80009-4. 1974Geobi...7..211H .
6. Meier. Patricia. Bickelmann. Constanze. Scheyer. Torsten. Koyabu. Daisuke. Sánchez-Villagra. Marcelo. Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals. 10.1186/1471-2148-13-55. BMC Evolutionary Biology . 2013 . 13 . 55 . 23442022 . 3599842 . free .
7. Web site: Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini.
8. Oberg. Danielle. Samuels. Joshua. 2022. Fossil moles from the Gray Fossil Site (Tennessee): Implications for diversification and evolution of North American Talpidae. Palaeontologia Electronica. 10.26879/1150. 91857382 . free.
9. Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829). Barbara. Rzebik-Kowalska. Jerzy. Pawłowski. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia.