Alpiscaptulus medogensis, 2021

Chen, Zhong-Zheng, He, Shui-Wang, Hu, Wen-Hao, Song, Wen-Yu, Onditi, Kenneth O., Li, Xue-You & Jiang, Xue-Long, 2021, Morphology and phylogeny of scalopine moles (Eulipotyphla: Talpidae: Scalopini) from the eastern Himalayas, with descriptions of a new genus and species, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193, pp. 432-444 : 440-442

ALPISCAPTULUS MEDOGENSIS JIANG & CHEN , SP. NOV.

Suggested common name: Medog mole, • µ. (motuo yan).

Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:292B5D9C-4F54-4C58-B0F8-2E7BF7DE0D1D

Holotype: KIZ: 037966, an adult female collected by Kang Luo at on 2 June 2019. Dried skin, cleaned skull and alcohol-preserved carcass.

Type locality: Mt Namjagbarwa , Damu Town, Medog County, south-east Tibet, China (29°44’32” N, 95°40’59” E), elevation approximately 3650 m a.s.l.

Paratype: KIZ: 037965, an adult male collected by Changzhe Pu on 24 May 2019 at an elevation of 2400 m a.s.l. from Gedang Town , Medog (29°29’31” N, 95°45’11” E). Dried skin, cleaned skull (braincase damaged) and alcohol-preserved carcass .

Measurements: See Table 3 .

Diagnosis: As for genus (see above).

Description: A medium-sized mole (HB = 100 mm, TL = 41 mm, HF = 18 mm). Dorsal pelage dark grey, ventral pelage imperceptibly lighter. Eyes minute, concealed in fur; external ears absent. The nose is long and develops into a conical snout; the nose and chin are covered in white hairs ( Fig. 4 ). The tail is about twice the length of the hind foot and is moderately covered in pale brown to white hairs, with a tuft of longer hairs located on the tip. The dorsal surfaces of hands and feet are light brown, white at the margin. Fore toes and hind toes not webbed, and the palms are nearly equal in length and width, with the flattened and slender claws. The hind foot is long and narrow, and the first toe is curved like that of Scapanulus oweni , which is set outward at a slight angle against remaining toes. We observed the curved second toe of the right hind foot in specimen KIZ: 037965, but not in specimen KIZ: 037966.

The skull is triangular and flat ( Fig. 2 ). The rostrum is long and slender; the braincase is broad with welldeveloped mastoid processes. The zygomatic arch is moderately heavy, and slightly convergent anteriorly; zygomatic plates are small. The orbits are narrow and situated in the middle of the skull. The interorbital region is broad, strong, and nearly rectangular. The infraorbital foramen is small. The pterygoid region is shallow, and auditory bullae are incomplete. The coronoid process is weak and triangular; the condyloid process is short and angled upward at roughly 45 °, so the coronoid valley appears shallow. The angular process is well developed, curved upward at the posterior.

The dental formula is I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3, totalling 44, and the incisors, canines and premolars are all well-spaced. The I 1 is enlarged and flat and twice the height of I 2, while the I 3 is the smallest of all. The canine is larger than I 2 and I 3, P 1 and P 2 are subequal and smaller than the canine, P 3 is almost as high as canine but broader, and P 4 is much larger than P 3. The transverse section of the upper molar is W-shaped, M 1> M 2> M 3; M 1 and M 2 broad with a trilobed basal shelf, while M 3 is much smaller and bilobed. I 1 and I 2 are enlarged and flattened, and I 3 is much smaller. The canine is slightly larger than I 3. All three incisors and the canine lean forward. All premolars are subequal; the P 2 of the right side of the type specimen has two equal tooth tips ( Figs 2 , 3 ), but only one tip on the other specimen. M 1 and M 2 are almost equal, M 3 is slightly smaller.

Etymology: The species name medogensis derives from Medog, the type locality of the new species, and the Latin adjectival suffix - ensis, meaning “belonging to”.

Comparisons: Because all genera of the Scalopini except Scapanus are monotypic, the comparisons are the same as the genus comparisons presented above.

Distribution: Alpiscaptulus medogensis is only known from the type locality at Mt Namjagbarwa in Medog County, south-east Tibet, China. The known elevational range is 2400 m a.s.l. to 3700 m a.s.l..

Ecology and habitat: From 20 April to 3 June 2019, we sampled small mammals along the elevational gradients from 650 to 3800 m a.s.l. at Mt Namjagbarwa. The two specimens of A. medogensis were captured at relatively high elevations, 2400 m a.s.l. and 3700 m a.s.l., respectively. During the survey, we did not see mole runways and mounds of excavated earth in this area. At 2400 m a.s.l., the mole was captured in a small hole using a mole trap. The habitat at this area was brushy, dominated by oak forest, with abundant grass cover on the ground. The mole from 3700 m a.s.l. was captured by a plastic bucket pitfall (15 cm in diameter and 20 cm in height). The vegetation of this area was dominated by heath forest, with mixed bamboo forests.

Figures

Figure 2. Dorsal, ventral and lateral views of the skull and lateral views of the mandible of the holotype of Alpiscaptulus medogensis (KIZ: 037966; left) and Scapanulus oweni (KIZ: 033872; right). Scale bar = 10 mm.

Figure 3. Occlusal views of the right lower teeth and upper teeth of Alpiscaptulus medogensis (KIZ: 037966; A, B) and Scapanulus oweni (KIZ: 033872; C, D). Scale bar = 5 mm.

Figure 4. Skins (dorsal view, left and ventral views, right) of the holotype of Alpiscaptulus medogensis (KIZ: 037966).