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1 July 2001 Taxonomic Status of the Senkaku Mole, Nesoscaptor uchidai, with Special Reference to Variation in Mogera insularis from Taiwan (Mammalia: Insectivora)
Masaharu Motokawa, Liang-Kong Lin, Hsi-Chi Cheng, Masashi Harada
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Abstract

The taxonomic status of the Senkaku mole,Nesoscaptor uchidai Abe, Shiraishi et Arai, 1991 (Mammalia: Insectivora: Talpidae), described from Uotsurijima in the Senkaku Group, Ryukyu Archipelago, was re-evaluated. Morphological analyses suggest that N. uchidai is most similar to Mogera insularis from Taiwan, although several morphological characters, such as the number of premolars and the shapes of the anterior portion of the palate, zygomatic arch, auditory bulla, and coronoid process, differentiate N. uchidai from M. insularis. Therefore, we synonymize the monotypic genus Nesoscaptor Abe, Shiraishi et Arai, 1991 with the genus Mogera Pomel, 1848, and define Mogera uchidai (Abe, Shiraishi et Arai, 1991) as a valid species endemic to Uotsurijima. In addition, we analyzed morphological variation within M. insularis, such as variation in the second upper premolar pair, overall cranial size, and the breadth of the rostrum and palate. Some of this variation may be associated with topographical and environmental factors in its habitat.

Masaharu Motokawa, Liang-Kong Lin, Hsi-Chi Cheng, and Masashi Harada "Taxonomic Status of the Senkaku Mole, Nesoscaptor uchidai, with Special Reference to Variation in Mogera insularis from Taiwan (Mammalia: Insectivora)," Zoological Science 18(5), 733-740, (1 July 2001). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.18.733
Received: 18 September 2000; Accepted: 1 March 2001; Published: 1 July 2001
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