Morphometric study of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear in the European moles Talpa europaea, Talpa occidentalis, and Talpa aquitania.

ABSTRACT: The inner ear, particularly the semicircular canals system, plays a crucial role in balance and spatial navigation. It has previously been investigated to understand if its shape is related to the ecology: it is indeed known to be a good predictor for the extreme ecological niche of burrowing or arboreal organisms, although being strongly driven by the phylogeny. Recent phylogenetic studies of European moles have revealed the paraphyletic status of the species Talpa europaea and the description of new parapatric species in south-western Europe. Following the description of the new mole species Talpa aquitania, its forelimb morphology has been compared to those of its two sister species, Talpa europaea and Talpa occidentalis, revealing inter- and intra-specific morphological discrimination.

SUBMITTER: Melekian A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12682593 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature