Talpa occidentalis
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Iberian mole (Talpa occidentalis) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. The moles live in a variety of moist soil habitats in the Iberian peninsula, including in cultivated areas. The females are hermaphroditic and slightly smaller than the males. Talpa occidentalis is considered of least concern by the IUCN.
First described as a subspecies of Talpa caeca by Angel Cabrera in 1907, Miller shortly after identified it as a separate species based on the skull, and it was formally identified as Talpa occidentalis by Barrett-Hamilton in 1911. It was later again considered a subspecies by Niethammer in 1962, until reanalysis by Jiminzez et all in 1984 and Filipucci et al in 1987.
Adult males are slightly larger than females, at an average of 65 grams (2.3 oz) and 53.5 grams (1.89 oz) respectively. It is found in Spain and Portugal, primarily in the northwest. It is most commonly found in meadows, cropland or pastures, and woodlands, as well as any temperate area with deep, moist soil that is not too rock, sandy, or otherwise poorly suited for digging. It eats primarily earthworms, and its habitat tends to be areas high in earthworms. It prefers... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian mole sighting in Porto on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 6 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian mole in Porto on a given day, against under 5% in October to December, the lowest months. That is one of Porto's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 140 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Iberian mole sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Porto, in our data
Porto is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Iberian mole sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Iberian mole is recorded against all the mammals logged in Porto (34 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
