Table of Contents
Overview
Brief Summary
Biology
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Comprehensive Description
Description
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Distribution
Range Description
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Geographic Range
Currently sourthwest Russia in the drainages of the following rivers: Don, Ural, and Volga. The fossil record indicates that they once ranged as far as the British Isles.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
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Range
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Head and body = 180-220 mm with a tail of 170-215mm. It is the largest of the Talpidae. The Russian desman has a long, grooved snout that is flexible. The tail is scaly, flattened laterally and wide at the base. Scent glands are located at the base of the tail and give off a musky smell. The waterproof brownish/red coat is bi-layered with a dense, short bottom later and a longer, stiff outer later. The forefeet are partially and the hind feet completely webbed. The pads of all feet are fringed with thick hairs for added boost in the water. Many parts of the Russian desman's body are covered with sensory hairs. The Russian desman has the general outward appearance similar to a muskrat (Ondatra).
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
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Habitat
The russian desman inhabits freshwater, slow moving streams, lakes, and ponds. They make their nests on the shoreline under vegetation and roots above the high water line. All entrances lead from the nest to below water.
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
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Habitat
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
Russian desmans eat aquatic organisms including fish, mollusks, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects.
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Life History and Behavior
Reproduction
Reproduction
Russian desmans have the ability to reproduce twice annually. Births are concentrated at the start of summer and fall. Litters of 3-5 young have been documented but little else is known of desman reproduction.
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Desmana moschata
Public Records: 0
Species: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
History
- 1996Vulnerable
- 1994Vulnerable(Groombridge 1994)
- 1990Vulnerable(IUCN 1990)
- 1988Vulnerable(IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
- 1986Vulnerable(IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
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Conservation Status
Hunting in the late 1800's drastically reduced desman populations. This species is currently listed as endangered and is protected by law. Russian desman populations have also suffered from habitat destructin, competition from introduced species (nutria and muskrats), and water pollution. The Russian desman has been introduced into other river systems outside of its original range and into areas in their original range where they were decimated.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
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Status
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Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Threats
Threats
The second most important threat is the use of 'electric landing nets' (or electric rods), which use an electric current to stun fish. These items of equipment, also used by poachers, have become widespread over the last 10-15 years. They are not believed to directly harm desmans, as a general rule, but they almost totally wipe out the fish and aquatic invertebrates that the desman depends upon.
A third major threat is habitat loss and degradation. During the second half of the twentieth century water pollution, creation of impoundments, drainage, clearance of riparian vegetation, and uncontrolled agricultural exploitation of flood plains became widespread and contributed to the decline in the species' population. However, this process has abated somewhat in the last decade, and its influence on the decline in the Russian desman population is today secondary. Competition for breeding sites with introduced nutria (Myocastor coypus) and muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) may also be a threat.
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Threats
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Management
Conservation Actions
Conservation measures recommended to stabilize and improve the condition of the Russian desman throughout its range include the following:
· Banning the unrestricted sale of nets and net-making materials;
· Developing a system of measures to combat electric landing nets; and
· Setting up specialized hunting reserves in the desman's key areas of habitation.
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Conservation
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
No documented examples.
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Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The Russian desman was hunted for its fur and musk glands (used in perfumes) until the late 1800's. They are now protected.
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Wikipedia
Russian Desman
The Russian Desman (Desmana moschata) (Russian: выхухоль) is a small semi-aquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It constructs burrows into the banks of ponds and slow-moving streams, but prefers small, overgrown ponds with abundance of insects, crayfish and amphibians. The Russian Desman often lives in small (usually non-kin related) groups of 2 to 5 animals and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and social system.
The Russian Desman is the only species of the genus Desmana. Despite its outward similarity to muskrats (a rodent), the Russian Desman is actually part of the mole family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Like other moles, it is functionally blind and obtains much of its sensory input from the touch-sensitive Eimer's organs at the end of its long, bi-lobed snout. However, the hind feet are webbed and the tail is laterally flattened —specializations for its aquatic habitat. The body is 18 to 21 centimetres (7.1 to 8.3 in) long while the tail is 17 to 20 centimetres (6.7 to 7.9 in) in length. Easily the largest species of mole, it weighs 400 to 520 grams (14 to 18 oz).[citation needed]
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Decidedly rich and thick in nature, desman fur used to be highly sought after by the fur trade. Consequently, the Russian Desman is now a protected species under Russian law. Unfortunately, due to loss of habitat (farming), water pollution, illegal fishing nets, and the introduction of non-native species (e.g., muskrat), population levels continue to decline. In the mid-1970s, there were an estimated 70,000 desmans in the wild; by 2004 the figure was only 35,000. Fortunately, at least in some Russian regions, the number of desmans appears to be increasing.
References
- ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 303. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.
- ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Desmana moschata. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 2006-05-11. Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2c v2.3)
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