Scapanus fossil map
Where fossils of Scapanus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04–0.0117 million years ago (Aquitanian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Talpidae |
| Named by | Pomel 1848 |
| Fossil records | 116 occurrences at 31 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | txn:67887, Palm Spring, "unnamed sandstone", Drewsey, Alkali Canyon, Dove Spring |
About Scapanus
Scapanus is a genus of moles in the family Talpidae. They live in North America from west of the Rockies south to Baja California del Norte, and north to British Columbia, wherever conditions permit a mole population; that is to say, apart from the most sandy, rocky, or developed places. As they are one genus, they are very closely related, but as species, they rarely if ever interbreed successfully.
It contains the following living species:
Mexican mole (S. anthonyi)
Northern broad-footed mole (S. latimanus)
Southern broad-footed mole (S. occultus)
Coast mole (S. orarius)
Townsend's mole (S. townsendii)
In addition, there are several extinct species known from fossils.
Scapanus hagermanensis (Mid Blancan stage, Idaho)
Scapanus malatinus (Blancan-Quaternary, California)
Scapanus proceridens (Miocene, Oregon and Idaho)
Scapanus shultzi (Miocene, California and Oregon)
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Scapanus (revision 1325156199), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2091646.
