Spalax

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

• Mehely's blind mole-rat , S. antiquus ^[5]
• Sandy blind mole-rat, S. arenarius
• Giant blind mole-rat, S. giganteus
• Bukovina blind mole-rat, S. graecus
• Oltenia blind mole-rat, S. istricus (possibly extinct) ^[5]
• Greater blind mole-rat, S. microphthalmus
• Kazakhstan blind mole-rat, S. uralensis
• Podolsk blind mole-rat, S. zemni

References

1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
2. 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. 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

• Jansa, S. A.; Weksler, M. (2004). "Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (1): 256–76. Bibcode:2004MolPE..31..256J. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.002. PMID   15019624.
• Michaux, J.; Reyes, A.; Catzeflis, F. (2001). "Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: molecular phylogeny of muroid rodents". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 18 (11): 2017–2031. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003743 . PMID   11606698.
• Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea." pp. 894–1531 in Wilson, D. E. and D. M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Norris, R. W.; Zhou, K. Y.; Zhou, C. Q.; Yang, G.; Kilpatrick, C. W.; Honeycutt, R. L. (2004). "The phylogenetic position of the zokors (Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodentia)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 972–978. Bibcode:2004MolPE..31..972N. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.020. PMID   15120394.
• Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World, II. London: Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN   978-0-8018-5789-8
• Steppan, S. J.; Adkins, R. A.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes". Systematic Biology. 53 (4): 533–553. doi:10.1080/10635150490468701. PMID   15371245.
• Topachevskii, V. A. (1976) Fauna of the USSR. Volume III: Mammals. Issue 3: Mole rats, Spalacidae. New Delhi: Amerind.
• Manov, Irena; Hirsh, Mark; Iancu, Theodore C; Malik, Assaf; Sotnichenko, Nick; Band, Mark; Avivi, Aaron; Shams, Imad (2013). "Pronounced cancer resistance in a subterranean rodent, the blind mole-rat, Spalax: in vivo and in vitro evidence". BMC Biology. 11: 91. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-11-91 . PMC   3750378 . PMID   23937926.