European Mole - Dentition

Dentition

The variance of morphology between species is very important to paleontologists as it can help define a fossil species. There are many characteristics like color and karyotype that do not fossilize but dentition does vary from species to species. Studying this dentition can be very beneficial in recognizing the differences between fossils and subsequently being able to classify them.

The Roman mole, Talpa romana, was once considered a subspecies of the European mole as they are of similar size. The only obvious difference between the two is that the Roman mole has skin-covered eyes and it also has a caecoid pelvis, whereas T. europaea has a europoid pelvis. Although similar in body, the dentition of T. romana is obviously larger in size than that of the European mole. Both the length of the tooth row and the individual elements are larger. Moreover, the mesotyle of the upper molars is generally divided. The dentition of Talpa europaea is small and the length of M1-M3 is less than 19% of the length of the condyle base. This mole has relatively small molars for its size.

• Molehills

• Portrait

• Skeleton in the Muséum de Toulouse

• An albino