List of spalacids

Greater blind mole-rat (Spalax microphthalmus)

Spalacidae is a family of mammals in the order Rodentia and part of the Myomorpha suborder. Members of this family are called spalacids, and include blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, mole-rats, and zokors. They are found in Asia, eastern Africa, and eastern Europe, primarily in forests, shrublands, and grasslands, though some species can be found in deserts or savannas. They range in size from the Middle East blind mole-rat, at 13 cm (5 in) with no tail, to the large bamboo rat, at 48 cm (19 in) plus a 20 cm (8 in) tail. Spalacids are primarily herbivores, and eat roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, with some species also eating insects. Few spalacids have population estimates, but four species—the giant root-rat, Mehely's blind mole-rat, Podolsk blind mole-rat, and sandy blind mole-rat—are categorized as endangered, while the Oltenia blind mole-rat is categorized as critically endangered.

The 23 extant species of Spalacidae are divided into 7 genera, divided into 4 subfamilies. Myospalacinae contains 6 species of zokors in 2 genera, Rhizomyinae contains 4 species of bamboo rats in 2 genera, Spalacinae contains 11 species of blind mole-rats in 2 genera, and Tachyoryctinae contains a single genus of 2 mole-rat species. Several extinct prehistoric spalacid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries, the exact number and categorization is not fixed. ^[1]

Conventions

IUCN Red List categories

Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (1 species)
EN	Endangered (4 species)
VU	Vulnerable (1 species)
NT	Near threatened (0 species)
LC	Least concern (17 species)

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the spalacid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification

Spalacidae is a family consisting of 23 extant species in 7 genera. These genera are divided into four subfamilies: Myospalacinae, containing 6 species of in 2 genera; Rhizomyinae, containing 4 species in 2 genera; Spalacinae, containing 11 species in 2 genera; and Tachyoryctinae, containing 2 species in a single genus. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species.

Family Spalacidae

• Subfamily Myospalacinae
  • Genus Eospalax (Chinese zokors): three species
  • Genus Myospalax (zokors): three species
• Subfamily Rhizomyinae
  • Genus Cannomys (lesser bamboo rat): one species
  • Genus Rhizomys (bamboo rats): three species
• Subfamily Spalacinae
  • Genus Nannospalax (small-bodied mole-rats): three species
  • Genus Spalax (blind mole-rats): eight species
• Subfamily Tachyoryctinae
  • Genus Tachyoryctes (African mole-rats): two species

Spalacidae [2] Spalacinae    Nannospalax Spalax Myospalacinae    Eospalax Myospalax Rhizomyinae    Cannomys Rhizomys Tachyoryctinae    Tachyoryctes

Spalacids

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists. ^[3]

Subfamily Myospalacinae

Main article: Myospalacinae

Genus Eospalax – Allen, 1938 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Chinese zokor	E. fontanierii (H. Milne-Edwards, 1867)	Central China	Size: 16–24 cm (6–9 in) long, plus 3–7 cm (1–3 in) tail [4] Habitat: Shrubland and grassland [5] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [5]
Rothschild's zokor	E. rothschildi (Thomas, 1911)	Central China	Size: 14–18 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 2–4 cm (1–2 in) tail [4] Habitat: Forest, shrubland, and grassland [7] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [7]
Smith's zokor	E. smithii (Thomas, 1911)	Central China	Size: 16–25 cm (6–10 in) long, plus 3–4 cm (1–2 in) tail [4] Habitat: Grassland [8] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [8]

Genus Myospalax – Laxmann, 1769 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
False zokor	M. aspalax (Pallas, 1776)	Mongolia, southern Russia, and northern China	Size: 16–21 cm (6–8 in) long, plus 3–7 cm (1–3 in) tail [4] Habitat: Forest and shrubland [9] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [9]
Siberian zokor	M. myospalax (Laxmann, 1773)	Kazakhstan, southern Russia, and northern China	Size: 20–27 cm (8–11 in) long, plus about 5 cm (2 in) tail [4] Habitat: Grassland [10] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [10]
Transbaikal zokor	M. psilurus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1874)	Mongolia, southern Russia, and northern China	Size: 20–27 cm (8–11 in) long, plus 3–6 cm (1–2 in) tail [4] Habitat: Shrubland, grassland, and desert [11] Diet: Roots and grains [6]	LC  Unknown [11]

Subfamily Rhizomyinae

Main article: Rhizomyinae

Genus Cannomys – Thomas, 1915 – one species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Lesser bamboo rat	C. badius (Hodgson, 1841)	Southeastern Asia	Size: 14–26 cm (6–10 in) long, plus 4–10 cm (2–4 in) tail [12] Habitat: Forest [13] Diet: Shrubs, shoots, and roots [14]	LC  Unknown [13]

Genus Rhizomys – Gray, 1831 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Chinese bamboo rat	R. sinensis Gray, 1831	China, Myanmar, and Vietnam	Size: 22–45 cm (9–18 in) long, plus 5–10 cm (2–4 in) tail [4] Habitat: Forest [15] Diet: Bamboo roots, as well as grass, seeds, and fruit [16]	LC  Unknown [15]
Hoary bamboo rat	R. pruinosus Blyth, 1851	India and southeastern Asia	Size: 24–35 cm (9–14 in) long, plus 9–13 cm (4–5 in) tail [4] Habitat: Forest and grassland [17] Diet: Bamboo roots, as well as grass, seeds, and fruit [16]	LC  Unknown [17]
Large bamboo rat	R. sumatrensis (Raffles, 1821)	Southeastern Asia	Size: 26–48 cm (10–19 in) long, plus 10–20 cm (4–8 in) tail [4] Habitat: Forest [18] Diet: Bamboo roots, as well as grass, seeds, and fruit [16]	LC  Unknown [18]

Subfamily Spalacinae

Main article: Spalacinae

Genus Nannospalax – Palmer, 1903 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Anatolian blind mole-rat	N. xanthodon (Nordmann, 1840)	Western Asia	Size: 14–25 cm (6–10 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [19] Diet: Roots, tubers, acorns, plant stems, and other plant parts [20]	LC  Unknown [19]
Lesser blind mole-rat	N. leucodon (Nordmann, 1840)	Southeastern Europe	Size: 15–24 cm (6–9 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [21] Diet: Roots, tubers, acorns, plant stems, and other plant parts [20]	LC  Unknown [21]
Middle East blind mole-rat	N. ehrenbergi (Nehring, 1898)	Middle East and northeastern Africa	Size: 13–22 cm (5–9 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Shrubland, grassland, and desert [22] Diet: Roots, tubers, acorns, plant stems, and other plant parts [20]	LC  Unknown [22]

Genus Spalax – Güldenstädt, 1770 – eight species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Bukovina blind mole-rat	S. graecus Nehring, 1898	Romania and southwestern Ukraine	Size: 22–28 cm (9–11 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [23] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	VU  Unknown [23]
Giant blind mole-rat	S. giganteus Nehring, 1898	Southwestern Russia	Size: 25–35 cm (10–14 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Shrubland and grassland [24] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	LC  Unknown [24]
Greater blind mole-rat	S. microphthalmus Güldenstädt, 1770	Ukraine and southwestern Russia	Size: 19–31 cm (7–12 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Shrubland and grassland [25] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	LC  Unknown [25]
Kazakhstan blind mole-rat	S. uralensis Tiflov & Usov, 1939	Kazakhstan	Size: About 31 cm (12 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [26] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	LC  Unknown [26]
Mehely's blind mole-rat	S. antiquus Méhely, 1909	Romania	Size: Unknown [12] Habitat: Grassland [27] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	EN  3,500–3,800 [27]
Oltenia blind mole-rat	S. istricus Méhely, 1909	Romania	Size: About 24 cm (9 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [28] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	CR  Unknown [28]
Podolsk blind mole-rat	S. zemni Erxleben, 1777	Ukraine	Size: 20–31 cm (8–12 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Forest and grassland [29] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	EN  Unknown [29]
Sandy blind mole-rat	S. arenarius Reshetnik, 1939	Ukraine	Size: 19–27 cm (7–11 in) long, with no tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [30] Diet: Roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, and seeds, as well as insects [20]	EN  Unknown [30]

Subfamily Tachyoryctinae

Main article: Tachyoryctinae

Genus Tachyoryctes – Rüppell, 1835 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Giant root-rat	T. macrocephalus Rüppell, 1842	Ethiopia	Size: 22–31 cm (9–12 in) long, plus 4–7 cm (2–3 in) tail [12] Habitat: Grassland [31] Diet: Roots, rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, and corms, as well as grass and legumes [32]	EN  Unknown [31]
Northeast African mole-rat	T. splendens (Rüppell, 1836)	Eastern Africa	Size: 15–27 cm (6–11 in) long, plus 4–10 cm (2–4 in) tail [12] Habitat: Forest, savanna, shrubland, and grassland [33] Diet: Roots, rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, and corms, as well as grass and legumes [32]	LC  Unknown [33]

References

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6. Nowak, p. 1429
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20. Nowak, p. 1427
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32. Nowak, p. 1445
33. Cassola, F. (2017). "Tachyoryctes splendens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017 e.T21299A22275532. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T21299A22275532.en .

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