Urotrichus fossil map
Where fossils of Urotrichus 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 | 13.82–0.0117 million years ago (Serravallian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Talpidae |
| Named by | Temminck 1841 |
| Fossil records | 18 occurrences at 8 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Austria, Japan, Greece, Germany, Slovakia |
| Rock formations | txn:67887, Lefkon |
About Urotrichus
Urotrichus is a genus of talpid that contains a single living species, the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides). Two fossil species (Urotrichus dolichochir and Urotrichus giganeus) are also known.
Urotrichus talpoides is also known from the Late Pleistocene of Japan, while U. giganteus is known from the Miocene of Austria, U. dolichochir from the Miocene of Germany, Poland and Slovakia, and an unidentified species from the Miocene of Greece. The genus may be descended from the structurally-similar Miocene species Tenuibrachiatum storchi, which shares features such as a slender humerus and a missing lower incisor.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Urotrichus (revision 1314662006), 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: Q3552445.
