| Levant mole | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Genus: | Talpa |
| Species: | T. levantis |
| Binomial name | |
| Talpa levantis Thomas, 1906 | |
| Subspecies | |
T. l. transcaucasicaDahl, 1944 | |
 | |
| Range ofT. l. levantis | |
 | |
| Range ofT. l. transcaucasica | |
TheLevant mole (Talpa levantis) is a species ofmammal in the familyTalpidae.[2]
The Levant mole was first described as a subspecies ofTalpa caeca byOldfield Thomas in 1906,[3] and recognized as a full species in 1973 by Spitzenberg.[2]
Moles in the genusTalpa are morphologically very similar to each other, which has made separating the species difficult before the wide availability of genetic analysis.[2] TheTalysch mole (T. talyschensis) was formerly considered a synonym ofT. levantis, but more recent studies have found it to be distinct.[4] A 2020 taxonomic analysis found three distinct genetic populations in the western, central, and eastern ends of its range, and separated them into three subspecies:Talpa levantis dogramacii (newly named in this study, afterSalih Doğramacı),T. l. levantis, andT. l. transcaucasica.[5] Based on genetic data, recent studies, including Demırtaş et al (2020) and Gündüz et al. (2023) have separated the eastern subspecies ofT. levantis as its own species,T. transcaucasica, the Transcaucasian mole.[6][2]
A fossil example ofT. levantis is known fromYarimburgaz Cave in Turkey, dated to theMiddle Pleistocene.[3]
The Levant mole is a small mole, 103 millimetres (4.1 in) to 149 millimetres (5.9 in) long. The eyes are covered with a layer of transparent skin, and the eyelids are permanently closed.[5]
Unlike other species in the genus, it has 38 pairs of chromosomes.[2]
The Levant mole lives in wet or damp soil, and can be found in both fields and forests.[3] IncludingT. transcaucasica, it is found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey.[7] IfT. transcaucasica's separation is taken into account, thenT. levantis isendemic to Turkey.[6][2]
