| Senkaku Mole | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Soricomorpha |
| Family: | Talpidae |
| Genus: | Mogera |
| Species: | M. uchidai |
| Binomial name | |
| Mogera uchidai Abe, Shiraishi & Arai, 1991 |
|
| Senkaku Mole range | |
The Senkaku mole (Mogera uchidai), also known as the Ryukyu mole, is a species of mammal in the Talpidae family. It was formerly classified as being monotypic within the genus Nesoscaptor. It is endemic to the Uotsuri-jima (Japanese: 魚釣島; hiragana: うおつりじま) of the disputed territory of Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyutai Islands (Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼). Owing to the territorial dispute between Japan and China, the mole is known as the Diaoyutai mole (Chinese: 釣魚台鼴; pinyin: diàoyútái yèn) in Chinese.[1]
Contents |
Its existence is threatened by habitat loss, due to the introduction of domestic goats in 1978; the goats now number more than 300 on this tiny island.[1][2]