New Species of Moles Found Living Underground in Eastern Turkey for Millions of Years
By Emily Lefroy | August 11, 2023 | 3:16pm
It’s giving “going underground” a whole new meaning.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all, scientists have identified new creatures in eastern Turkey that could have been living there for 3 million years.
Two new types of moles, named Talpa hakkariensis and Talpa davidiana tatvanensis, have been living in the mountains of eastern Turkey in Bitlis.
Scientists say the new moles can survive in temperatures of up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and under 6 feet of snow in winter, noting the discovery is particularly exciting as it’s rare to find new species of mammal.
The study, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society in July, was conducted by researchers from Ondokuz Mayıs University in Turkey, Indiana University, and England’s University of Plymouth.
“It is very rare to find new species of mammals today,” said senior author David Bilton, professor of aquatic biology at the University of Plymouth. “There are only around 6,500 mammal species that have been identified across the world and, by comparison, there are around 400,000 species of beetles known, with an estimated 1 to 2 million on Earth.”
“Superficially, the new moles we have identified in this study appear similar to other species, since living underground imposes serious constraints on the evolution of body size and shape — there are a limited number of options available for moles, really,” Bilton noted.
After discovering the moles, researchers used “cutting-edge DNA technology” to compare their DNA to that of other moles and found the Turkish critters are biologically distinct.
The study’s authors say the new moles are “subterranean, invertebrate-eating mammals,” found across Europe and Western Asia. They said the discovery points out that just how extensive the diversity of mammals is can be misunderstood.
“Our study highlights how, in such circumstances, we can underestimate the true nature of biodiversity,” Bilton said, “even in groups like mammals, where most people would assume we know all the species with which we share the planet.”