| New World moles | |
|---|---|
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| Eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Subfamily: | Scalopinae Gill, 1875 |
| Tribes | |
TheScalopinae, orNew World moles, are one of three subfamilies of the familyTalpidae, which consists of moles and mole-like animals; the other two subfamilies being the Old World talpids (theTalpinae) and the Chinese shrew-like moles (Uropsilinae). The Scalopinae are the only Talpidae subfamily to consist entirely of undisputedmoles and no mole-like close relatives such asshrew-moles ordesmans.
They are found in temperateNorth America and parts ofChina. InNorth America, they exist virtually everywhere soil conditions permit except northernCanada and those areas of northeasternMexico where the soil is too sandy. Despite this subfamily being referred to as "New World moles", there are also two species in the mountains ofChina, each in their ownmonotypic genus. Morphological and paleontological analyses indicate that both tribes in the subfamily originated in Eurasia during theOligocene and migrated to North America during the Neogene, with the Condylurini later going extinct throughout their Eurasian range. The Scalopini also migrated at least two different times from North America back to Eurasia, with the two Chinese species likely originating from this.[1][2][3][4] In addition, phylogenetic and morphological evidence supports the Condylurini not belonging in the Scalopinae, and occupying a much more basal position inTalpidae.[4]
The Scalopininae are divided into two tribes, six genera, and ten species:
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