| Japanese mountain mole | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Tribe: | Talpini |
| Genus: | Oreoscaptor Kawada, 2016 |
| Species: | O. mizura |
| Binomial name | |
| Oreoscaptor mizura (Günther, 1880) | |
 | |
| Japanese Mountain Mole range | |
| Synonyms | |
Euroscaptor mizura | |
TheJapanese mountain mole (Oreoscaptor mizura) is a species ofOld World mole in the familyTalpidae. It isendemic toJapan. It is the only member of themonotypic genusOreoscaptor. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperategrassland.
Although the Japanese mountain mole was formerly classified in the genusEuroscaptor, a study published by theAmerican Society of Mammalogists found that they did not truly belong to the genus because of earlier evolutionary divergence from otherEuroscaptor species.[2] In 2016, the species was reclassified into the new genusOreoscaptor.[3][4]
The taxonomic position of the species was reassessed in 2016 based on its external and skeletal morphologies. It was found that the muzzle of this species showed a unique groove on the ventral side, separating it from the rest of the moles in the family.[2][3]
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