Prehistoric ‘scalopini’ mole fossil uncovered in an ancient Spanish volcano crater
Researchers have discovered a new genus and species of prehistoric mole in Spain. Vulcanoscaptor ninoti lived during the Pliocene Epoch, from 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago and belonged to the Scalopini, a tribe of moles that currently exists in North America and Asia. Before we dive into the details of a discovery, there is one matter we should immediately set straight. If “Scalopini” sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of scallopine, or scallopini—a delicious Italian dish consisting of thin sautéed slices of meat served in a variety of sauces. Needless to say that the food scallopine will (unfortunately) not be playing a large part in this story. Researchers found V. ninoti in an excellent state of preservation, recovering its mandible with a complete set of teeth, sections of the torso, and a number of leg bones in their correct anatomical connection. The specimen represents one of the oldest and most complete small...