Species group · Mammals

Desmans

WAnimals has 2 species of desman, in the family Talpidae.

2 species

1 family

9 countries

6 parks

Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.

All 2 species of desmans on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

1 Vulnerable1 Endangered

2 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Recorded in 9 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Only two desmans are left in the world, the Pyrenean and the Russian: they are the last survivors of a lineage of aquatic moles that was far more diverse millions of years ago.
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It is a first-rate bioindicator: it vanishes as soon as a river is polluted, dammed or loses flow, so its presence certifies that the water is clean.
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Its laterally flattened tail and webbed hind feet make it an excellent swimmer, despite belonging to the same family as the burrowing moles.
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It is a living fossil: its lineage separated from that of the moles more than 30 million years ago, and only one other desman is left in the world, the Pyrenean desman of Iberia.
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