La Touche's mole (M. latouchei) of mainland China and northern Vietnam was formerly considered conspecific with M. insularis until a 2007 taxonomic analysis found it to be a distinct species. In addition, the same study found that populations of M. insularis in the mountainous center and western lowlands of Taiwan represented a new, distinct species, Kano's mole (M. kanoana). The same study also treated the Hainan population as a distinct species (M. hainana) for the sake of comparing geographic variation, but did not do genetic analysis on it and thus later authorities have not followed through with hainana as a distinct species. However, a 2021 genetic analysis found hainana to likely represent a distinct species, leaving insularis as endemic to only Taiwan.[2][3]
Phylogenetic evidence supports it being the sister species to a clade comprising kanoana and hainana (if the latter is considered a distinct species).[3]
Mogera insularis is unique from other moles in the Talpinae family in that it has 32 chromosomes instead of 34 to 38 chromosomes. Additionally, Mogera insularis members also have a metacentric chromosome pair that is much larger than its other chromosome markers.[4]
