Japanese mountain mole

The Japanese mountain mole is a species of Old World mole in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Oreoscaptor. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland.

Taxonomy

Although the Japanese mountain mole was formerly classified in the genus Euroscaptor, a study published by the American Society of Mammalogists found that they did not truly belong to the genus because of earlier evolutionary divergence from other Euroscaptor species. In 2016, the species was reclassified into the new genus ''Oreoscaptor.''

Morphology

The taxonomic position of the species was reassessed in 2016 based on its external and skeletal morphologies. It was found that the muzzle of this species showed a unique groove on the ventral side, separating it from the rest of the moles in the family.