Spalax

Spalax is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Spalacinae, alongside Nannospalax.[1]

For the French record company, see Spalax (record company).

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
Species

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

Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe and western & central Asia.[2] They are completely blind and have a subterranean lifestyle.[3]

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.[4]

Species

References
  1. 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. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030043. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3253805. PMID 22253871.
  2. Database, Mammal Diversity (2022-02-01), Mammal Diversity Database, Zenodo, retrieved 2022-03-08
  3. Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste (1809). Philosophie zoologique ou exposition des considérations relatives à l'histoire naturelle des animaux. Dentu.
  4. 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. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030043. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3253805. PMID 22253871.
  5. Old views and new insights: taxonomic revision of the Bukovina blind mole rat, Spalax graecus (Rodentia: Spalacinae) (PDF). 2013. doi:10.1111/zoj.12081.
8 ^ Irena Manov, Mark Hirsh, Theodore C Iancu, Assaf Malik, Nick Sotnichenko, Mark Band, Aaron Avivi and Imad Shams† (2013) Pronounced cancer resistance in a subterranean rodent, the blind mole-rat, Spalax: in vivo and in vitro evidence. BMC Biology

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. 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. 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.
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