Desman, common name for certain mammals in the mole family that 
lead a semiaquatic existence beside ponds and streams, feeding on 
insects, fish, and mollusks. The so-called Russian desman occurs in 
the drainages of the Don, Volga, and Ural rivers of Russia and 
Kazakhstan. It has a long, flared, flexible snout and grows to a 
length of about 20 cm (about 8 in), with a laterally compressed tail 
of nearly equal length. Its front paws are partially webbed, and its 
rear paws are fully webbed. The burrows of desmans have 
underwater entrances. Scent glands give the animals an odor like 
that of muskrats, but their beautiful reddish brown fur has made 
them an endangered species. The Pyrenean desman is smaller; 
one variety occurs in the Pyrenees, the other in mountains 
of Portugal.