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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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Condylura is a genus of moles that contains a single extant species, the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) endemic to the northern parts of North America.[1] It is also the only living member of the tribe Condylurini.

While today endemic to New World, fossil evidence suggests the genus was once much more widespread, with two named species (C. kowalskii and C izabellae) known from the Pliocene of Poland and an unnamed species from the Mid Miocene of Kazakhstan.[2]

Condylura is classified along with other New World moles in the subfamily Scalopinae by most authorities; however, more recent studies suggest that it occupies a much more basal position in Talpidae, being sister to a clade comprising the fossil genus Geotrypus, all living Talpinae, and all Scalopini. The extinct genus Eotalpa could potentially be a sister genus to it.[3]

References

  1. ^ Feldhamer, George A.; Thompson, Bruce C.; Chapman, Joseph A., eds. (2003). Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management and Conservation (2nd ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801874161.
  2. ^ Sansalone, G.; Kotsakis, T.; Piras, P. (2016). "Condylura (Mammalia, Talpidae) reloaded: New insights about the fossil representatives of the genus". Palaeontologia Electronica. 19 (3). doi:10.26879/647. hdl:11380/1318332.
  3. ^ Schwermann, Achim H.; He, Kai; Peters, Benjamin J.; Plogschties, Thorsten; Sansalone, Gabriele (2019). "Systematics and macroevolution of extant and fossil scalopine moles (Mammalia, Talpidae)". Palaeontology. 62 (4): 661–676. doi:10.1111/pala.12422. ISSN 1475-4983. S2CID 134096608.


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