Spalax
Greater blind mole-rat (S. microphthalmus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Spalacidae
Subfamily: Spalacinae
Genus: Spalax
Güldenstädt, 1770
Type species
Spalax microphthalmus[1]
Species

Spalax antiquus
Spalax arenarius
Spalax giganteus
Spalax graecus
Spalax istricus
Spalax microphthalmus
Spalax uralensis
Spalax zemni

Spalax is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae, subfamily Spalacinae (blind mole-rats). It is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Spalacinae, alongside Nannospalax.[2]

Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe and western & central Asia.[3] They are completely blind and have a subterranean lifestyle.[4]

Taxonomy

Prior to 2013, Spalax was widely considered the only member of Spalacinae, with all blind mole-rat species being grouped within it. However, phylogenetic and morphological evidence supported some of the species within it forming a distinct lineage that diverged from the others during the Late Miocene, when a marine barrier formed between Anatolia and the Balkans. These species were reclassified into the genus Nannospalax, making Spalax one of two extant spalacine genera.[2]

Species of genus Spalax

References

  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b Hadid, Yarin; Németh, Attila; Snir, Sagi; Pavlíček, Tomáš; Csorba, Gábor; Kázmér, Miklós; Major, Ágnes; Mezhzherin, Sergey; Rusin, Mikhail; Coşkun, Yüksel; Nevo, Eviatar (2012-01-09). "Is Evolution of Blind Mole Rats Determined by Climate Oscillations?". PLOS ONE. 7 (1): e30043. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730043H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030043. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3253805. PMID 22253871.
  3. ^ Database, Mammal Diversity (2022-02-01), Mammal Diversity Database, doi:10.5281/zenodo.5945626, retrieved 2022-03-08
  4. ^ Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste (1809). Philosophie zoologique ou exposition des considérations relatives à l'histoire naturelle des animaux. Dentu.
  5. ^ a b Németh, Attila; Homonnay, Zalán G.; Krízsik, Virág; Csorba, Máté; Pavlíček, Tomáš; Hegyeli, Zsolt; Hadid, Yarin; Sugár, Szilárd; Farkas, János; Csorba, Gábor (2013). "Old views and new insights: taxonomic revision of the Bukovina blind mole rat, Spalax graecus (Rodentia: Spalacinae)" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 169 (4): 903–914. doi:10.1111/zoj.12081. S2CID 82892241.

Further reading

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