The Russian desman (Desmana moschata) (Russian: выхухоль vykhukhol‍ '​) is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga,Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It constructs burrows into the banks of ponds and slow-moving streams, but prefers small, overgrown ponds with abundance of insects, crayfish and amphibians. The Russian desman often lives in small (usually not related) groups of two to five animals, and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and social system.