Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Russian Desman (Desmana moschata), recorded as Critically Endangered
Russian Desman (Desmana moschata). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Russian Desman

Desmana moschata

The Russian desman (Russian Desman.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Desmana moschata
Taxonomy
Mammalia · Soricomorpha · Talpidae · Desmana

Appearance

More specifically, scratching with hind feet, washing, biting out of nails, and biting out of fur. The main reasons for these actions are supporting the air layer and heat-insulating properties of fur.

Range and habitat

Russian desman's natural habitat is limited to the Dnieper and Don river basins in Russia. It is an endemic and highly endangered species. A 1961 attempt to acclimatize desmans in the Tobol river basin in Western Siberia was semi-successful.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Habits

The Russian desman (Russian Desman. Russian: выхухоль vykhukhol') is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia.

In crisis

Russian Desman is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Russian Desman, Wikidata item Q381760. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
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Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

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Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Russian Desman?
The Russian desman (Russian Desman.
What is the conservation status of Russian Desman?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Desmana moschata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Russian Desman live?
Russian desman's natural habitat is limited to the Dnieper and Don river basins in Russia.
Why is Russian Desman in crisis?
It is Critically Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Desmana moschata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Russian Desman a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.