{{Short description|Subfamily of Eurasian insectivores}} {{Other uses}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Desmanini<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Hutterer | page = 303}}</ref> | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Oligocene|Recent}} | image = Desman-drawing.jpg | image_caption = Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') | taxon = Desmanini | authority = Thomas, 1912 | subdivision_ranks = Living genera | subdivision = *''Desmana'' *''Galemys'' For fossil genera, see text | range_map = Desman range.jpg }}
'''Desmans''' are aquatic insectivores of the tribe '''Desmanini''' (also considered a subfamily, '''Desmaninae''') in the mole family, Talpidae.
This tribe consists of two living species found in Europe: the Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') in European Russia, and the Pyrenean desman (''Galemys pyrenaicus'') in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees. Both species are endangered, the Russian desman critically so.<ref name="PD_iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Quaglietta, L. |year=2022 |amends=2021 |title=''Galemys pyrenaicus'' |article-number=e.T8826A214429993 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8826A214429993.en}}</ref><ref name="RD_iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Rutovskaya, M. |author2=Gazzard, A. |author3=Turvey, S.T. |year=2023 |title=''Desmana moschata'' |article-number=e.T6506A231334630 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T6506A231334630.en}}</ref> They have webbed paws and their front paws are not well-adapted for digging. Desmans were much more diverse and widespread during the Miocene, with two genera, ''Gaillardia'' and ''Magnatalpa'', being present in North America.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=James E.|date=2017|title=A rare occurrence of the fossil water mole Gaillardia (Desmanini, Talpidae) from the Neogene in North America|url=https://sdaos.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/2017/94-98.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science|volume=96|pages=95–98}}</ref><ref name=gray /> Both living species are thought to have derived from the fossil genus ''Archaeodesmana.''<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Minwer-Barakat|first1=Raef|last2=García-Alix|first2=Antonio|last3=Martín-Suárez|first3=Elvira|last4=Freudenthal|first4=Matthijs|date=2020-12-01|title=Early Pliocene Desmaninae (Mammalia, Talpidae) from Southern Spain and the Origin of the Genus Desmana|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|language=en|volume=40|issue=5|article-number=e1835936|doi=10.1080/02724634.2020.1835936|bibcode=2020JVPal..40E5936M |s2cid=228905970 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Species== {{further|List of talpids}} *Genus ''Desmana'' **Russian desman (''D. moschata'') **†''Desmana kowalskae''<ref name=gray /> **†''Desmana nehringi''<ref name=gray /> **†''Desmana inflata''<ref name=gray /> **†''Desmana thermalis''<ref name=gray /> **†''Desmana marci''<ref name=gray /> *Genus ''Galemys'' **Pyrenean desman (''G. pyrenaicus'') * Genus †''Asthenoscapter'' Miocene, Europe<ref name=Hutchinson>{{cite journal|last1=Hutchison|first1=John Howard|year=1974|title=Notes on type specimens of European Miocene Talpidae and a tentative classification of old world Tertiary Talpidae (Insectivora: Mammalia)|journal=Geobios|volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=211–256 |doi=10.1016/s0016-6995(74)80009-4|bibcode=1974Geobi...7..211H }}</ref> * Genus †''Archaeodesmana'' Miocene-Pliocene, Europe * Genus †''Desmanella'' Miocene, Europe<ref name=Meier>{{Cite journal|last1=Meier|first1=Patricia|last2=Bickelmann|first2=Constanze|last3=Scheyer|first3=Torsten|last4=Koyabu|first4=Daisuke|last5=Sánchez-Villagra|first5=Marcelo|title=Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-13-55|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=2013 |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=55 |pmid=23442022 |pmc=3599842 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2013BMCEE..13...55M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=65634|title=Palaeobiology Database: Desmanella stehlini}}</ref> * Genus †''Gaillardia'' Miocene, North America * Genus †''Mygalinia'' Late Miocene, Hungary * Genus †''Magnatalpa'' Miocene-Pliocene, North America<ref name=gray>{{Cite journal|last1=Oberg|first1=Danielle|last2=Samuels|first2=Joshua|year=2022|title=Fossil moles from the Gray Fossil Site (Tennessee): Implications for diversification and evolution of North American Talpidae|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|doi=10.26879/1150|s2cid=91857382 |doi-access=free}}</ref> *Genus †''Ruemkelia''<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ruemkelia (Mammalia, Insectivora, Talpidae) nom. nov. for Dibolia RÜMKE, 1985 (nec LATREILLE, 1829)|first1=Barbara|last1=Rzebik-Kowalska|first2=Jerzy|last2=Pawłowski|journal=Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> Galemys pyrenaicus 02 crop-by-dpc.jpg|The bare snout of ''Galemys pyrenaicus'' Galemys pyrenaicus MHNT.INS.29.jpg|''Galemys pyrenaicus'' Desmana moschata MHNT.INS.10.jpg|''Desmana moschata'' </gallery>
==In the media== * {{Cite news | first = Rebecca | last = Morelle | author-link = Rebecca Morelle | title = Pyrenean desman: On the trail of Europe's weirdest beast | publisher = BBC News Online | date = 2012-09-04 | quote = video report | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19260705 | access-date = 2012-09-05}} * {{Cite news | title = Russians rally for water mammal | publisher = BBC News Online | date = 2006-06-09 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5065428.stm | access-date = 2012-09-05}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q940295}}
Category:Talpidae Category:Aquatic mammals Category:Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas