Mogera uchidai

40.

Senkaku Mole

Mogera uchidai

French: Taupe des Senkaku / German: Ryukyu-Maulwurf / Spanish: Topo de Senkaku

Other common names: Ryukyu Mole

Taxonomy. Nesoscaptor uchidai Abe, Shirai- shi & Arai, 1991, west coast of Uotsurijima (= Senkaku Islands), Ryukyu Islands,Japan.

Mogera uchidai was originally described under the genus Nesoscaptor as its only spe- cies, based on different dental formula of holotype; dentition of holotype was later considered to be abnormal. Based on skull morphology, which is similar to M. insularis from Taiwan, M. uchidai was moved to the genus Mogera. Monotypic.

Distribution. Uotsurijima (Senkaku Is), SW Japan.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 129-9 mm,tail 12 mm, hindfoot 16 mm; weight 42-7 g. Tail is ¢.2% of head-body length. The Senkaku Mole is small, characterized by relatively small manus and very short tail. Nostrils are directed outward; naked portion on upperside of muzzle is rather rectangular in outline. Dorsum is close to dark grayish brown or dusky drab, and venteris slightly paler and dusky drab. Throat and chest are brown. Rostrum is markedly bent downward when viewed from the side. Palatal portion is broad, and rostrum is very short and broad. Dental formula of holotype is13/2,C1/1,P 3/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 38. Compared with primitive dental formula of Talpidae, P*, I,, and P, are thought to be lost. There are 7 cervical, 14 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 7 sacral, and 4 caudal vertebrae.

Habitat. Coastal grassland (holotype).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Senkaku Mole is fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Senkaku Mole is only known from one location on Uotsurijima Island, which has an area of only 3-8 km?. Overgrazing by domestic goats (Capra hircus) introduced in 1978 has no doubt affected vegetation and ecosystem dynamics on this island.

Bibliography. Abe et al. (1991), Motokawa, Lin Liangkong et al. (2001), Ohdachi et al. (2015).