NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Snow Mountain Shrew Mole
Uropsilus nivatus G. M. Allen, 1923
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Snow Mountain shrew mole (Uropsilus nivatus) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is native to Yunnan Province in China and potentially Myanmar. Its common name references Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which is the type locality of the species. Aside from there, the only other confirmed specimen is from Cang Mountain.
It was formerly considered synonymous with the gracile shrew mole (U. gracilis), but a 2018 phylogenetic study found it to be a distinct species. The study found it to be the second most basal member of Uropsilus (with only the inquisitive shrew mole, U. investigator, being more basal), diverging from the rest of the genus during the early-mid Pliocene.
Wikipedia contributors, Snow Mountain shrew mole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:39:53.571668+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Uropsilus nivatus G. M. Allen, 1923
- Name authority
- G. M. Allen, 1923
- Common name
- Snow Mountain Shrew Mole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Eulipotyphla
- Family
- Talpidae
- Genus
- Uropsilus
- 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
- subfamilyUropsilinae Dobson, 1883
- genusUropsilus A. Milne-Edwards, 1871
- speciesUropsilus nivatus G. M. Allen, 1923
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Uropsilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Inquisitive Shrew MoleUropsilus investigator (Thomas, 1922) | TalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=1229394 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:CGHNS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.