NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Roman Mole
Talpa romana Thomas, 1902
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Roman Mole (Talpa romana), photographed in Provincia di Cosenza, Italia.
Golfopolikayak · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Roman mole (Talpa romana) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is endemic to central-southern Italy (from the province of Grosseto to the province of Ancona, south to southern Calabria). It was last recorded on Sicily in 1885. There is also an unconfirmed report about an isolated subpopulation in the Vars region of southern France.
Wikipedia contributors, Roman mole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:53:50.552660+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Talpa romana Thomas, 1902
- Name authority
- Thomas, 1902
- Common name
- Roman Mole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Eulipotyphla
- Family
- Talpidae
- Genus
- Talpa
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
- familyTalpidae G. Fischer, 1814
- subfamilyTalpinae G. Fischer, 1814
- tribeTalpini G. Fischer, 1814
- genusTalpa Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesTalpa romana Thomas, 1902
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Talpa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Altai MoleTalpa altaica Nikolsky, 1883 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caucasian MoleTalpa caucasica Satunin, 1908 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Levant MoleTalpa levantis Thomas, 1906 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ognev's MoleTalpa ognevi Stroganov, 1944 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Talysch MoleTalpa talyschensis Vereschchagin, 1945 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Talpa transcaucasica Dahl, 1945 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blind MoleTalpa caeca Savi, 1822 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European MoleTalpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Iberian MoleTalpa occidentalis Cabrera, 1907 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Balkan MoleTalpa stankovici V. Martino & E. Martino, 1931 | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Talpa romana brachycrania Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 | synonym |
| Talpa romana adamoi Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 | synonym |
| Talpa romana aenigmatica Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 Capolongo & Panasci, 1976 | synonym |
| Talpa romana romana Thomas, 1902 Thomas, 1902 | synonym |
| Talpa romana montana Cabrera, 1925 Cabrera, 1925 | synonym |
| Talpa romana wittei Capolongo, 1986 Capolongo, 1986 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=633855 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:54M32. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.