Mogera imaizumii (Kuroda, 1957)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6678191 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6671986 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0380B547-B64B-FF9A-9FB6-FBD5FBC7C0E6 |
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treatment provided by |
Valdenar |
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scientific name |
Mogera imaizumii |
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Small Japanese Mole
French: Taupe d'Imaizumi / German: Kleiner Japan-Maulwurf / Spanish: Topo de Japén pequeno
Other common names: Lesser Japanese Mole, Japanese Eastern Mole
Taxonomy. Talpa imaizumii Kuroda, 1957 ,
Shiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu, Ja- pan.
Mogera imaizumii was proposed as a re- placement name for M. minor named by N. Kuroda in 1936, which is a secondary homonym of the fossil talpid 7. europaea var. minor named by W. Freudenberg in 1914. Molecular data suggest that there are three distinct phylogeographical clusters of Small Japanese Mole in eastern Honshu, Japan. Subspecific taxonomy requires reassessment. Monotypic.
Distribution. Japan, mainly E Honshu and adjacent islands, as well as isolated populations in W Japan, including W Honshu (Hiwa Town, Kyoto City, and Kii Peninsula), Shikoku (Mt Ishizuchi, Mt Tsurugi, and Mt Ohtaki), and Shodoshima I; W limit of distribution on E Honshu is located across Ishikawa, Gifu, Nagano, and Shizuoka prefectures, where SmallJapanese Mole shows parapatric or mixed distribution with the Large Japanese Mole ( M. wogura ), a species distributed in W Japan. In Echigo Plain, Niigata Prefecture, the Small Japanese Mole is parapatric with the Echigo Mole (M. etigo ). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 102-154 mm, tail 8-5-22-5 mm, hindfoot 14-20 mm; weight 36-3-109-1 g. Tail of the Small Japanese Mole is 9-4-17-5% of head-body length. Body size varies geographically from small to medium;it is usually larger in broad alluvial plains than in mountainous regions or narrow valleys. Positive correlations exist between greatest skull length and habitat area. Populations from areas with heavy snow are smaller than those from areas with little or no snow; this variation is also explained by negative correlation with total annual precipitation. Size also varies positively with variation in annual mean temperature. Pelage of the Small Japanese Mole varies in color but usually is darker in small forms from mountainous regions and lighter brown in large forms from plains. Summer pelage of large local form varies between reddish brown and clove-brown above and nearly cinnamon-brown below. Dorsum of small local formsis nearly clove-brown, and venteris slightly paler. Summer pelage is usually darker than winter pelage. High frequency of partial albinism (90%) was reported for a small population on Kinkazan Island. Skull has relatively narrow rostrum and wide interorbital region, and braincase is smooth and less angular than in the Large Japanese Mole. Upper incisor row of the SmallJapanese Mole usually projects well forward and is markedly Vor U-shaped in populations with smaller individuals and only broadly V-shaped in populations with larger individuals. Dental formula 813/2,C1/1,P 4/4. M 3/3 (x2) = 42. Absent teeth (P!, P?, and P,) were found in 1-8% of individuals. There are 7 cervical, 14 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 6 sacral and 12 caudal vertebrae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 54.
Habitat. Low flat fields, with deep and fine textured soil and sufficient moisture, from near sea level to elevations of ¢.2000 m. In Kanazawa Plain, mixed distribution of Large Japanese Moles and Small Japanese Moles occurs in the Tedori alluvial fan; the Large Japanese Mole was found in areas with softer soil, and Small Japanese Mole was found in areas with hardersoils. The Small Japanese Mole is sympatric with the Japanese Mountain Mole ( Oreoscaptor mizura ) and the Large Japanese Mole in western Honshu (Kyoto).
Food and Feeding. The SmallJapanese Mole primarily eats earthworms (mainly Pheretima spp.) and various small invertebrates, such as annelids, arthropods, and insects. In captivity, it also eats frogs, mice, and birds, and it probably can eat any animal found in its tunnel system. The Small Japanese Mole attacks and eats earthworms with “head” first and “tail” first, different from the Japanese Shrew Mole ( Urotrichus talpoides ) that attack “head” first. The Small Japanese Mole eats earthworms more quickly.
Breeding. Small Japanese Moles mainly breed from late winter through spring, with decreased breeding between early summer and early winter. Pregnant females were collected in April-July. Two to six offspring are born, and they become reproductively active in the following spring. Autumn reproduction is usually rare, but it has been
observed frequently in Echigo Plain where Small Japanese Mole is parapatrically distributed with the Echigo Mole.
Activity patterns. Small Japanese Moles use large tunnels with average diameters of 56 mm. Three tunnel depths were detected: shallow (40-90 mm), medium (100-210 mm, most common), and deep (280-420 mm). Fortresses with nest chambers were not observed.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. In paddy fields, three Small Japanese Moles used 156-297 m along levees and sides of irrigation ditches as their exclusive territories. Home ranges were 113-8165 m®. Small Japanese Moles seem to be territorial. Natural predators include owls, raptors, foxes, badgers, and weasels.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Abe (1967 1968, 1985, 1995, 1996), Freudenberg (1914), Hashimoto & Abe (1999), Hutterer (2005a), Imaizumi (1979), Iwasa et al. (2006), Kashimura, Moteki et al. (2010), Kawada (2016), Kawada, Endo et al. (2011), Kawada, Harada et al. (2001), Kirihara et al. (2013), Kuroda (1936), Kuroi & Iwasa (2016), Moribe & Yokohata (2011), Motokawa (2004), Motokawa & Abe (1996), Ohdachi et al. (2015), Sagara, Abe & Okabe (1993), Sagara, Kobayashi et al. (1989), Tsuchihashi et al. (2011), Yoshiyuki (1986, 2002).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
