Russian desman
Desmana moschata latin

Consequently, the Russian desman is now a protected species under Russian law.

Russian desman (D. moschata)

Sacha - a friendly and loyal Russian desman, who always tries to help however he can in difficult situations, despite the other animals often find him an annoyance.

Russian Desman (Desmana moschata)

Along with the Russian desman (Desmana moschata), it belongs to the tribe Desmanini.

The Russian desman often lives in small (usually not related) groups of two to five animals, and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and social system.

ARKive - images and movies of the Russian desman (Desmana moschata)

Characteristic are some small mammals (Golden Jackal, voles, European Ground Squirrel, Russian Desman among others).

Despite its outward similarity to muskrats (a rodent), the Russian desman is actually part of the mole family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha.

Downstream from Borisoglebsk is the Khopyor Nature Preserve, populated with protected beavers, wisents and Russian Desman.

Back in the 1960s-1970s, especially near Oskol River, it was not unusual to meet Bobak marmot, Eurasian deer, wild boar and Russian Desman.

The Russian desman is one of two surviving species of the tribe Desmanini, the other being the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus).

Many suggest that 'Rodhocetus' may have swum like a modern otter, but through a principal components analysis done in 2003, Philip Gingerich demonstrated that its limb proportions were closer to that of the Russian desman.

They range in size from the tiny shrew moles of North America, as small as 2.4 cm in length and weighing under 12 grams, to the Russian desman, with a body length of 18-22 cm, and a weight of about 550 grams.

Russian Desman (Desmana moschata)

Along with the Russian desman (Desmana moschata), it belongs to the tribe Desmanini.

ARKive - images and movies of the Russian desman (Desmana moschata)