Comparative myology of moles and the phylogeny of the Talpidae (Mammalia, Lipotyphla)

Title Variants

Alternative: Myology of moles

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3294

By

Whidden, Howard P.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2000

Notes

Caption title.

"April 25, 2000."

The skeletal musculature of 11 talpid genera is described, and 58 myological characters are defined and used in a phylogenetic analysis of the Talpidae. This analysis included the out-group taxa Atelerix (Erinaceidae) and Blarina (Soricidae), and it discovered a single most parsimonious tree. Inclusion of Uropsilus in a monophyletic Talpidae needs further evaluation, but there is very strong support for the monophyly of other talpids. Contrary to previous interpretations of talpid relationships, this phylogenetic analysis indicates (1) the fully fossorial moles Parascalops, Scalopus, Scapanus, and Talpa are monophyletic; (2) the Eurasian genus Talpa is sister taxon to the North American genera Scalopus and Scapanus; and (3) the long-tailed mole Scaptonyx is part of a clade with the shrew moles Neurotrichus and Urotrichus. Preliminary biogeographic analysis suggests that the Talpidae originated in the Old World, and that there were separate dispersals from Eurasia to North America by Condylura, Neurotrichus, Parascalops, and the common ancestor of Scalopus and Scapanus.

Subjects

Anatomy , Mammals , Moles (Animals) , Muscles , Phylogeny

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3294 2000

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2000)3294<0001:CMOMAT>2.0.CO;2
OCLC: 43985171