Finding Euroscaptor mizura (Mammalia : Insectivora) and Its Nest from under Hebeloma radicosum (Fungi : Agaricales) in Ashiu, Kyoto, with Data of Possible Contiguous Occurrences of Three Talpine Species in This Region

Abstract

We examined nests and other traces of moles in Ashiu, Kyoto, beneath fruit bodies of a mushroom species, Hebeloma radicosum, which grows on the underground latrines of small mammals. We also attempted to catch animals at nesting sites which were detected through the fungal fruiting. As a result, an adult specimen of a talpine mole species, Euroscaptor mizura, was collected together with its nest. This is the first record of E. mizura from Ashiu region. Also, this is the first report of the nest of E. mizura, of the mushroom-mole nest association in H. radicosum and E. mizura, and of the capture of a mole at the nesting site under indication of the fungus. Morphological features of the animal and structure of the nest are described. This finding further revealed a contiguousness in the distribution of three talpine species, E. mizura, Mogera wogura and Mogera kobeae in Ashiu.