The Preface of “Evolutionary Biology and Phylogeny of the Talpidae”

Mammal Study 30: S3 (2005) © the Mammalogical Society of Japan

The preface of “Evolutionary biology and phylogeny of the Talpidae”

The symposium “Evolutionary biology and phylogeny pleasure to say “Mission accomplished”! of the Talpidae” was held on the 3rd of August as part of This symposium was accompanied by three poster the IX International Mammalogical Congress (IMC9) in presentations. Dr. N. Sagara presented his new research Sapporo, Japan, 31 July–5 August 2005, and attracted topic, ‘Myco-talpology’, which is the science pertaining about 50 individuals interested in the family Talpidae to the ecological relationships between mushrooms and and other subterranean mammals. moles. Dr. Y. Yokohata communicated his and his After a brief introduction by Dr. Y. Yokohata, Dr. S. student’s research on lesser Japanese moles. The first Kawada highlighted his recent studies on the karyologi- poster examined the social relationships between indi- cal and morphological aspects of the lesser-known Asian vidual moles in captivity, while the second documented mole species, and forwarded several taxonomic prob- and compared the diet of an isolated insular population lems yet to be addressed. Dr. A. Loy followed this (Kinkasan Island) of moles inhabiting a ‘turf’ habitat presentation by discussing the origin and evolutionary altered by high populations of sika deer with those in history of Western European fossorial moles of the genus natural ‘forest’ environments. Talpa based on her and her collaborators’ studies of their In this proceeding, the following four reviews are morphology, karyology, and molecular phylogeny, in the included. context of historical glaciations of the region. Mr. A. Shinohara’s presentation incorporated mitochondrial and The historical notes and taxonomic problems of East genomic nucleotide data from a wide range of Eurasian Asian moles, Euroscaptor, Parascaptor and Scaptochirus and North American species, and reviewed our current of continental Asia (Insectivora, Talpidae) understanding of the molecular phylogenetic relation- Shin-ichiro Kawada ships among the family Talpidae. Finally, Dr. K. L. Campbell presented his studies on the physiological Origin and evolution of Western European moles (genus and molecular evolution of hemoglobin oxygen affinity Talpa, Insectivora): a multidisciplinary approach within the family Talpidae. The latter two presentations Anna Loy, Paolo Colangelo, Flavia Annesi and Ernesto largely focused on the evolution of semi-fossorial Capanna (shrew-moles), strictly fossorial (moles) and semi- aquatic (desmans and star-nosed moles) species from An evolutionary view on the Japanese talpids based on primitive terrestrial forms (shrew-like moles). Our nucleotide sequences understanding of the biology of the Talpidae still has Akio Shinohara, Kevin L. Campbell and Hitoshi Suzuki many unanswered questions, especially pertaining to their taxonomic classification, phylogenetic relation- A brief review of the biology on Talpidae in Japan ships, evolution, and behavior, thus further studies are Yasushi Yokohata needed. Following the presentations, Drs. Campbell and Kawada lead a group discussion focused on how best to In closing, the conveners appreciate all participants for proceed with such future studies on this fascinating making this a successful symposium, and the authors of group of mammals, with many insightful comments the above reviews for their kind efforts to summarize from the audience. It was our hope that this symposium their presentations for this proceeding. would encourage future collaborations, facilitate the exchange of information among researchers, and attract Shin-ichiro Kawada new researchers in the study of talpid mammals. Based Kevin L. Campbell on the kind remarks of several participants, it is our Yasushi Yokohata