52.

Malaysian Mole

Euroscaptor malayanus

French: Taupe de Malaisie / German: Malaysia-Maulwurf / Spanish: Topo de Malasia

Taxonomy. Talpa klossi malayana Chasen, 1940,

Kuala Terla Tea Estate, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia.

Widely used specific name malayana has been changed for gender agreement. Eu- roscaptor malayanus has been included as a synonym of E. micrurus or E. klossi, but morphological and molecular studies support its status as a distinct species. It is the southernmost distributed of Asian moles. Monotypic.

Distribution. Malaysia (Cameron Highlands in Peninsular Malaysia).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 128-5-134-5 mm, tail 4.5—8-5 mm, hindfoot 14-5—-16-5 mm; weight 43-6-71-5 g. Tail of the Malaysian Mole is 3-3-6-6% of head-body length. Body is medium-sized relative to other species of Euroscaptor and Parascaptor. Tail is club-shaped, with long hairs at tip and quite short, hidden underfur. Snout 1s almost triangular in dorsal view, with nostrils opening mesio-laterally on muzzle. Upper part of nasal pad protrudes forward. A case of white spots on the chest part ofskin was reported. Penis is thick and short, with many spines. Rostrum is short and broad. Braincase is rounded. Dental formulais13/3,C1/1,P 4/4, M 3/3 (x2) = 44. A single case of missing P, was reported. Upperincisor row protrudes forward and is V-shaped. There are 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, b lumbar, 5 sacral, and 4 or more caudal vertebrae. Pelvis is thick and characterized by single pair ofsciatic foramina. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 52, similar to that of Kloss’s Mole (E. klossi), although there are clear differences in G-banding pattern.

Habitat. Known only from Kuala Terla Tea Estate and surrounding gardens at elevations of 1300-1600 m.

Food and Feeding. Food items of the Malaysian Mole include earthworms, adult beetles, hymenopterans, crickets, lepidopteran and coleopteran larvae, and a small reptile (blind snake). Diet probably also includes most subterranean animals that it can find.

Breeding. A lactating Malaysian Mole was collected in March, and most males in January had testes of reproductive size, suggesting reproductive season in January-March.

Activity patterns. The Malaysian Moleis fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Malaysian Moles do not construct molehills. One individual was found in the stomach of a snake, Elaphe porphyracea.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Malaysian Mole is likely to have been negatively affected by land-use transformation from virgin montane forest to agricultural land.

Bibliography. Kawada (2016), Kawada, Kobayashi et al. (2006), Kawada, Shinohara et al. (2003, 2005), Kawada, Yasuda et al. (2008), Shinohara, Kawada, Nguyen Truong Son, Dang Ngoc Can et al. (2015), Shinohara, Kawada, Nguyen Truong Son, Koshimoto et al. (2014), Shinohara, Kawada, Yasuda & Lim (2004), Yoshiyuki (1988).