Desman Explained

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.^{[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.