Oreoscaptor mizura (Gunther, 1880)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Talpidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 52-619 : 614

34.

Japanese Mountain Mole

Oreoscaptor mizura

French: Taupe de montagne / German: Japan-Bergmaulwurf / Spanish: Topo de montana de Japon

Other common names: Mizura Mole

Taxonomy. Talpa mizura Gunther, 1880 ,

“in the neighbourhood of Yokohama,” Honshu, Japan.

Oreoscaptor mizura is the only extant species

in the genus Oreoscaptor. It has long been

considered a species of Euroscaptor until it was excluded based on molecular and morphological analyses. Genus Oreoscaptor was established for mizura . Two subspecies have been described (ohtai and hiwaensis), but their taxonomic status has not been properly studied. Monotypic.

Distribution. Japan (Honshu I).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 82-111 mm,tail 20-26-5 mm, hindfoot 12-5-15-5 mm; weight 20-5-32 g. Tail is 19-28-7% of head-body length. TheJapanese Mountain Mole is small, with gray to dark slate-black fur. Tail is rod-shaped and relatively long, exceeding length of forefeet and hindfeet. Snout is short, and naked portion on upperside of muzzle is triangular, with longitudinal groove in center. Penis is short, thick, 5-5 mm long, and 2-2 mm wide. Skull has slender rostrum and broad braincase. Upper incisor row is tapered as a sharp V-arch. There are 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 6 lumbar, 6 sacral, and 13 caudal vertebrae. Dental formulais13/3,C1/1,P4/4,M 3/3 (x2) = 44. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 52.

Habitat. Subalpine and alpine habitats in middle and high mountains at elevations of 500-2400 m. The Japanese Mountain Mole is sympatric with the Large Japanese Mole ( Mogera wogura ) and the Small Japanese Mole ( M. imaizumii ) in western Honshu (Kyoto).

Food and Feeding. Stomach contents of Japanese Mountain Moles include mainly beetle larvae. In captivity, Japanese Mountain Moles eat earthworms and mealwormes.

Breeding. Neonatal Japanese Mountain Moles were found in a nest in May. Littersize is estimated at c.3 young.

Activity patterns. The Japanese Mountain Mole is thought to be semi-fossorial and often comes aboveground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Based on records of carcasses, dispersal of the Japanese Mountain Mole appears to be in June-August. Spherical nest is ¢.50 cm underground and created from piling broad leaves into the nest chamber. Predators include owls, foxes, badgers, and weasels.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Euroscaptor mizura ).

Bibliography. Abe (1967, 1968), He et al. (2014), Imaizumi (1955), Kawada (2016), Kawada et al. (2001), Ohdachi et al. (2015), Sagara & Fukasawa (2014), Sagara, Abe & Okabe (1993), Sagara, Kobayashi et al. (1989), Shinohara et al. (2014), Zemlemerova et al. (2016).

Figures

22. Altai Mole (Talpa altaica), 23. Pere David’s Mole (Talpa davidiana), 24. Talysch Mole (Talpa talyschensis), 25. Ognev’s Mole (Talpa ognevi), 26. Caucasian Mole (Talpa caucasica), 27. Levant Mole (Talpa levantis), 28. Balkan Mole (Talpa stankovici), 29. Blind Mole (Talpa caeca), 30. Roman Mole (Talpa romana), 31. Iberian Mole (Talpa occidentalis), 32. European Mole (Talpa europaea), 33. Aquitanian Mole (Talpa aquitania), 34. Japanese Mountain Mole (Oreoscaptor mizura), 35. Ussuri Mole (Mogera robusta), 36. Large Japanese Mole (Mogera wogura), 37. Small Japanese Mole (Mogera imaizumii), 38. Sado Mole (Mogera tokudae), 39. Echigo Mole (Mogera etigo), 40. Senkaku Mole (Mogera uchidai), 41. Insular Mole (Mogera insularis), 42. Kano’s Mole (Mogera kanoana), 43. La Touche’s Mole (Mogera latoucher), 44. Himalayan Mole (Ewroscaptor micrurus), 45. Greater Chinese Mole (Euroscaptor grandis), 46. Long-nosed Mole (Euroscaptor longurostris), 47. Kloss’s Mole (Euroscaptor klosst), 48. Kuznetsov’s Mole (Euroscaptor kuznetsovi), 49. Orlov’s Mole (Euroscaptor orlovi), 50. Vietnamese Mole (Euroscaptor subanura), 51. Small-toothed Mole (Euroscaptor parvidens), 52. Malaysian Mole (Euroscaptor malayanus), 53. White-tailed Mole (Parascaptor lewcurus), 54. Short-faced Mole (Scaptochirus moschatus)

Distribution. Japan (Honshu I).