A new species of shrew moles, genus Uropsilus Milne-Edwards, 1871 (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Talpidae), from the Wuyi Mountains, Jiangxi Province, eastern China

Researchers have identified a new species of shrew mole, Uropsilus huanggangensis, in the Wuyi Mountains, Jiangxi Province, eastern China. This discovery extends the known range of the genus Uropsilus to its easternmost record and represents the first documentation of this group from the Wuyi Mountains, which are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The new species is distinguished by unique morphological traits, including dark chocolate-brown fur, an elongated snout, and distinctive cranial features. Genetic analysis, involving mitochondrial and nuclear genes, revealed significant genetic divergence from other Uropsilus species, with cytochrome b (CYT B) gene distances ranging between 9.3% and 16.4%. The study suggests that U. huanggangensis diverged during the late Pliocene, approximately 1.92 million years ago.

Ren, X., Xu, Y., Li, Y., Yao, H., Fang, Y., Khanal, L., Cheng, L., Zeng, W., Jiang, X., & Chen, Z. (2023). A new species of shrew moles, genus Uropsilus Milne-Edwards, 1871 (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Talpidae), from the Wuyi Mountains, Jiangxi Province, eastern China. ZooKeys, 1186, 25–46. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1186.111592