Altai mole
Talpa altaica Nikolsky, 1883
The altai mole (Talpa altaica) is a species in the family Talpidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 85 g to 113.7 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the altai mole
- Weight
- 85 g – 113.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 289 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.47src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.82src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the altai mole live?
Not recorded
What is the altai mole?
The Altai mole or Siberian mole (Talpa altaica) is a species of mole in the family Talpidae. It is found throughout the taiga zone of south-central Siberia in Russia, as far south as northern Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
This mole lives in forested habitat and feeds mainly on earthworms.
This is a common species. It is sometimes caught for its fur.
From the Wikipedia article “Altai mole” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Altai_mole&oldid=1314662392), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the altai mole endangered?
The altai mole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the altai mole classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderEulipotyphla
- familyTalpidae
- genusTalpa
- SpeciesTalpa altaica Nikolsky, 1883
Synonyms Talpa europaea irkutensis, Talpa europaea saianensis
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- Siberian moleEnglish
- Siberian moleEnglish
- krtek sibiřskýCzech
- Altai-MaulwurfGerman
- Sibirischer MaulwurfGerman
- siperiankontiainenFinnish
- Taupe de SibérieFrench
- Szibériai vakondHungarian
- Talpa siberianaItalian
- アルタイモグラJapanese
- Алтай көртышқаныKazakh
- 알타이두더지Korean
- Sibirinis kurmisLithuanian
- Altain ChatsuulinMongolian
- Kret ałtajskiPolish
- Алтайский кротRussian
- Krot SibirskiiRussian
Relatives of the altai mole
Other species in the same genus Talpa.
European mole
Talpa europaea
Blind mole
Talpa caeca
Caucasian mole
Talpa caucasica
Père David's mole
Talpa davidiana
Levant mole
Talpa levantis
Iberian mole
Talpa occidentalis
CompareAltai mole vs European moleAltai mole vs Blind moleAltai mole vs Caucasian moleAltai mole vs Père David's mole
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the altai mole?
An adult altai mole weighs 85 g – 113.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the altai mole endangered?
The altai mole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long is the altai mole pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 289 days.
What kind of animal is the altai mole?
The altai mole (Talpa altaica) belongs to the family Talpidae in the order Eulipotyphla.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Altai mole (Talpa altaica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/altai-mole
“Altai mole (Talpa altaica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/altai-mole.
@misc{altai_mole_2026,
title = {Altai mole (Talpa altaica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/altai-mole},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}