Senkaku mole

The Senkaku mole (Mogera uchidai), also known as the Ryukyu mole, is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It was formerly classified as being the only species in the genus Nesoscaptor. It is endemic to the Uotsuri-jima (Japanese: 魚釣島; hiragana: うおつりじま) of the disputed territory of Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyutai Islands (Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼). It is most similar to the Insular mole (Mogera insularis) of Taiwan and mainland China.^[2]

Senkaku mole
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Talpidae
Genus:	Mogera
Species:	M. uchidai
Binomial name
Mogera uchidai Abe, Shiraishi & Arai, 1991
Senkaku mole range

Ecological threats

Its existence is threatened by habitat loss, due to the introduction of domestic goats in 1978; the goats now number more than 300 on this tiny island.^[3] Its conservation status was upgraded to CR in 2010 by the Biodiversity Center of Japan, although the IUCN still considers that current lack of population data prevents an accurate assessment.^[1][4] New population studies have evaluated the species as vulnerable.