Desman

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).

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

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

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 )

Russian desmans eat aquatic organisms including fish, mollusks, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects.

There is a general lack of knowledge about this species in all aspects of its biology.

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

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

No documented examples.

The Russian desman was hunted for its fur and musk glands (used in perfumes) until the late 1800's. They are now protected.

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.

Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual

Very little is known about the natural ecology and behaviour of the Russian desman. They build nests on the banks of rivers and appear to be fairly gregarious, as eight individuals have been found in a single nest (2). Females produce two litters a year of three to five young, which are born in spring and autumn (2). Musk glands at the base of the tail are used to mark territories (4). Russian desmans are primarily nocturnal and catch their prey in the water, using their flexible snout to feel along the riverbed and also as a snorkel (3). They can stay underwater for up to five minutes between breaths (4). They eat a range of aquatic organisms such as fish, molluscs, insects, crustaceans and amphibians (2).

The Russian desman is fully protected today, and the fur trade no longer poses a threat to their survival (3). A number of reserves have been established to protect the last unspoilt wetlands and captive breeding programmes have been set up, although these have so far been unsuccessful (4). Very little is known about natural populations of Russian desmans, and this must be a conservation priority before any effective action plan may be put into practice.

Desmans belong to the same family as moles but are adapted for a more aquatic lifestyle. They posses a similar long, cylindrical body, but the tail is longer and flatter than that of a mole and is broadened by a fringe of stiff hairs (3). The legs are also covered in stiff hairs and the thick, waterproof coat is brownish-red in colour, fading to ashy-grey on the underside (2) (3). The snout is long and flexible and the back feet are completely webbed in order to provide propulsion in water (3).

The Russian desman inhabits lakes, ponds, slow-moving streams and rivers. While a supply of freshwater is essential for this species, it is occasionally also found in brackish waters (2).

Fossils from the Pleistocene period show that the Russian desman was found across Europe from southern Britain to the Caspian Sea (3). Today, it occurs in Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where it occurs in the river basins of the Volga, Don, Dneiper, Ural, Uj and Tobal (2).

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1).

Russian desmans were massively exploited for their fur and musk glands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and populations were decimated as a result (2). The delicate wetland ecosystem in which they are found is under threat from draining, pollution and agriculture, and desmans also face competition with introduced nutria (Myocastor coypus) and muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) (2) (4).

The Russian desman (Desmana moschata) (Russian: выхухоль vykhukhol') is a small semiaquatic 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 groups of two to five animals, that are usually not related, and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and social system.