Ophthalmology of eulipotyphla: Moles, shrews, hedgehogs, and relatives

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.