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Ophthalmology of Eulipotyphla: Moles, Shrews, Hedgehogs, and Relatives

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Wild and Exotic Animal Ophthalmology

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Abstract

Eulipotyphla is one of the newest orders of animals of the Mammalia class with some of the oldest and most primitive placental mammals. This order includes the families Solenodontidae, Talpidae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, and the extinct Nesophontidae or West Indian shrews. Accounting for approximately 8–10% of all placental mammals and including more than 500 species worldwide, Eulipotyphla is a very pervasive order with species found on all continents except Antarctica (Woodman 2018). By definition, Eulipotyphla means “truly fat and blind”. As this nomenclature suggests, most species have small eyes and poor vision. With minimal change over millions of years, these species provide a powerful model to study evolutionary adaption and the progression or regression of anatomic and physiologic properties. The peer-reviewed literature citing ophthalmic disease in this order of mammals is sparse to non-existent with the exception of some members of the Erinaceidae family.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Eye Center of New Jersey, Little Falls, NJ, USA

    Bradford J. Holmberg

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  1. Bradford J. Holmberg
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Veterinary Medicine Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

    Fabiano Montiani-Ferreira

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Bret A. Moore

  3. College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Gil Ben-Shlomo

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Holmberg, B.J. (2022). Ophthalmology of Eulipotyphla: Moles, Shrews, Hedgehogs, and Relatives. In: Montiani-Ferreira, F., Moore, B.A., Ben-Shlomo, G. (eds) Wild and Exotic Animal Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81273-7_16

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