Middle East Blind Mole Rat

Middle East Blind Mole Rat
Middle East Blind Mole Rat
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Spalacidae
Genus: Spalax
Species: S. ehrenbergi
Binomial name
Spalax ehrenbergi
(Nehring, 1898)

The Middle East Blind Mole Rat or Israel Mole Rat (Spalax ehrenbergi or Nannospalax ehrenbergi) is a species of rodent in the Spalacidae family. It is found in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubbish vegetation, and it is threatened by habitat loss.

Recent cytogenetic studies have shown that S. ehrenbergi may actually be a species group containing several cryptic species with chromosome numbers 2n=48, 2n=52, 2n=54, 2n=56 and 2n=58.[1]

Soil mounds of the Palestine Mole Rat in a field in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, israel

References

  • Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  • Schlitter, D. 2004. Nannospalax ehrenbergi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 09 July 2007.
  1. ^ Sözen,M et al., Some karyological records and a new chromosomal form for Spalax (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey. Folia Zool. – 55(3): 247–256 (2006)

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