Condylura

Condylura is a genus of moles that contains a single extant species, the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) endemic to the northern parts of North America.^[1] It is also the only living member of the tribe Condylurini.

Condylura Temporal range: Mid Miocene - Recent 12–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Subfamily:	Scalopinae
Tribe:	Condylurini Gill, 1875
Genus:	Condylura Illiger, 1811
Type species
Sorex cristatus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Condylura cristata †Condylura izabellae †Condylura kowalskii †Condylura sp. - Kazakhstan

While today endemic to New World, fossil evidence suggests the genus was once much more widespread, with two named species (C. kowalskii and C izabellae) known from the Pliocene of Poland and an unnamed species from the Mid Miocene of Kazakhstan.^[2]

Condylura is classified along with other New World moles in the subfamily Scalopinae by most authorities; however, more recent studies suggest that it occupies a much more basal position in Talpidae, being sister to a clade comprising the fossil genus Geotrypus, all living Talpinae, and all Scalopini. The extinct genus Eotalpa could potentially be a sister genus to it.^[3]

References

1. Feldhamer, George A.; Thompson, Bruce C.; Chapman, Joseph A., eds. (2003). Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management and Conservation (2nd ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801874161.
2. Sansalone, G.; Kotsakis, T.; Piras, P. (2016). "Condylura (Mammalia, Talpidae) reloaded: New insights about the fossil representatives of the genus". Palaeontologia Electronica. 19 (3). doi:10.26879/647. hdl:11380/1318332.
3. Schwermann, Achim H.; He, Kai; Peters, Benjamin J.; Plogschties, Thorsten; Sansalone, Gabriele (2019). "Systematics and macroevolution of extant and fossil scalopine moles (Mammalia, Talpidae)". Palaeontology. 62 (4): 661–676. doi:10.1111/pala.12422. ISSN 1475-4983. S2CID 134096608.