Secrets of the Underground Vietnam: an Underestimated Species Diversity of Asian Moles (Lipotyphla: Talpidae: Euroscaptor)

Abstract

A study of the Southeast Asian moles of the genus Euroscaptor based on a combined approach, viz. DNA sequence data combined with a multivariate analysis of cranial characters, has revealed a high cryptic diversity of the group. An analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and five nuclear genes has revealed two deeply divergent clades: the western one (E. klossi + E. malayana + E. longirostris from Sichuan + Euroscaptor spp. from northern Vietnam and Yunnan, China), and the eastern one (E. parvidens s.l. + E. subanura). The pattern of genetic variation in the genus Euroscaptor discovered in the present study provides support for the existence of several cryptic lineages that could be treated as distinct species based on their genetic and morphological distinctness and geographical distribution. The moles from southern China and northern Vietnam form three distinct groups. The specimens from Sichuan (including the one collected from the type locality of E. longirostris) were clearly distinct from the northwestern Vietnam and Yunnan samples that were previously attributed to this species. We argue that the real distribution of E. longirostris is restricted to Sichuan, northward of Yangtze River, whereas the populations occurring southward of this isolation barrier evidently represent a new species Euroscaptor orlovi sp. nov. (northwestern Vietnam and Yunnan, southern China). Moreover, Red River that divides the western and eastern parts of northern Vietnam beyond doubt separates the population of E. orlovi from the moles occurring in northeastern Vietnam (Vinh Phuc and Cao Bang provinces); the latter are described here as Euroscaptor kuznetsovi sp. nov. Yet, genetic data are in favour of a close affinity of E. subanura with E. parvidens. A combined analysis of both genetic and morphological data has revealed a strong geographic segregation of E. parvidens samples. The populations from Dalat Plateau (southern Vietnam), including the moles from Loc Bao, Bi Dup and Chu Yang Sin, form a well-supported clade and can be considered true E. parvidens. The specimens from central Vietnam (Kon Tum and Quang Nam provinces) are significantly different from them, yet their monophyly has been supported by the mtDNA only. The moles from central Vietnam have been described here as a new subspecies Euroscaptor parvidens ngoclinhensis ssp. nov. All the studied samples of E. subanura have shown a low genetic and morphological variability despite their wide geographic range.

Genetic and morphologic diversity of the moles (Talpomorpha, Talpidae,Mogera) from the continental Far East

“…According to the Genetic Species Concept, the species threshold is determined based on the level of differentiation between known genetically isolated lineages (Baker & Bradley, ; Bradley & Baker, ). The essential mitochondrial genetic distance between M. wogura and M. robusta (~6%) corresponds to those between pairs of the sister species in other groups of the strictly fossorial moles such as Talpa or Euroscaptor (Bannikova et al., ; Nicolas, Martínez‐Vargas, & Hugot, ; Tsuchiya et al., ; Zemlemerova, Bannikova, Lebedev, Rozhnov, & Abramov, ). The phylogeographic break might have occurred when the Korea Strait could block gene exchange between these two lineages.…”

Small mammals of the Song Thanh and Saola Quang Nam Nature Reserves, central Vietnam

“…Family TALPIDAE Euroscaptor parvidens (Miller, 1940) Currently, four mole species of the genus Euroscaptor have been reported from Vietnam (Kawada et al, 2009(Kawada et al, , 2012Zemlemerova et al, 2016). The status of endemic small-toothed mole E. parvidens was assessed by Kawada et al (2009), and was recently re-evaluated by Zemlemerova et al (2016) who described a new subspecies, E. parvidens ngoclinhensis, from the Kon Tum Plateau.…”

“…Family TALPIDAE Euroscaptor parvidens (Miller, 1940) Currently, four mole species of the genus Euroscaptor have been reported from Vietnam (Kawada et al, 2009(Kawada et al, , 2012Zemlemerova et al, 2016). The status of endemic small-toothed mole E. parvidens was assessed by Kawada et al (2009), and was recently re-evaluated by Zemlemerova et al (2016) who described a new subspecies, E. parvidens ngoclinhensis, from the Kon Tum Plateau. The nominotypical subspecies E. parvidens parvidens is restricted to the Dalat Plateau, including the Chu Yang Sin National Park in Dak Lak Province (Kawada et al, 2009) and the Bi Doup-Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong Province (Abramov et al, 2010;Zemlemerova et al, 2016).…”

“…The status of endemic small-toothed mole E. parvidens was assessed by Kawada et al (2009), and was recently re-evaluated by Zemlemerova et al (2016) who described a new subspecies, E. parvidens ngoclinhensis, from the Kon Tum Plateau. The nominotypical subspecies E. parvidens parvidens is restricted to the Dalat Plateau, including the Chu Yang Sin National Park in Dak Lak Province (Kawada et al, 2009) and the Bi Doup-Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong Province (Abramov et al, 2010;Zemlemerova et al, 2016). During our surveys, three specimens were collected from the Song Thanh NR ( Fig.…”

“…Several recent studies have discovered unique and endemic mammals in the central Annamites, including the saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, the large-antlered muntjac Muntiacus vuquangensis, the Truong Son muntjac Muntiacus truongsonensis, and the Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi, as well as other species of high conservation value, such as the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon Nomascus annamenis (Van Ngoc Thinh et al, 2010) and the red-shanked douc langur Pygathrix nemaeus (Nadler et al, 2007). Several new species and subspecies of small mammals have also been recorded from Quang Nam Province in recent years, such as: Harpiola isodon (Kruskop et al, 2006), Murina fionae and M. anamitica (Francis & Eger, 2012), M. lorelieae ngoclinhensis (Vuong Tan Tu et al, 2014), M. kontumensis (Nguyen Truong Son et al, 2015), Euroscaptor parvidens ngoclinhensis (Zemlemerova et al, 2016), Kerivoula dongduongana (Vuong Tan Tu et al, 2018), and Myotis ancricola (Kruskop et al, 2018).…”