The Bukovina blind mole-rat or (erroneously) the Balkan blind mole-rat (''Spalax graecus'') is a species of
rodent in the family
Spalacidae found in
Romania,
Moldova, and
Ukraine.
Taxonomy
The specific epithet ''graecus'', as well as the reference to the
Balkans in its former scientific name, both derive from the
type specimen, which was initially thought to have been collected in the vicinity of
Athens,
Greece. However, in 1969 this was found to be erroneous, and the type locality was corrected to the vicinity of
Chernovtsy, Ukraine.
Formerly, this species was thought to comprise three
disjunct subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
: the type subspecies ''graecus'', inhabiting northern Romania, Moldova, and southwestern Ukraine,
Mehely's blind mole-rat
Mehely's blind mole-rat (''Spalax antiquus'') is an endangered species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Romania.
Taxonomy
Previously described in 1909 by Lajos Méhelÿ as a subspecies of the Balkan mole-rat (''S. graecus'' ...
(subspecies ''antiquus''), thought to be
endemic to central Romania, and the possibly
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
Oltenia blind mole-rat
The Oltenia blind mole-rat (''Spalax istricus'') is a critically endangered, possibly extinct species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Romania.
Taxonomy
Previously described in 1909 by Lajos Méhelÿ as a subspecies of the ...
(subspecies ''istricus''), thought to be endemic to southern Romania. However, a 2013 morphological and phylogenetic analysis found ''antiquus'' and ''istricus'' to represent distinct species from ''graecus''. The
American Society of Mammalogists
The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...
and IUCN Red List followed the results of this study.
This leaves S. ''graecus'' with a much smaller distribution than it was previously thought to have.
Description
The organism can be described as having a long, cylindrical body with no neck and relatively weak limbs. The Bukovina mole rats are blind and do not possess any Outer ear, external ears.
[Chişamera, G., Bužan, E. V., Sahlean, T., Murariu, D., Zupan, S., & Kryštufek, B. (2013). Bukovina blind mole rat Spalax graecus revisited: Phylogenetics, morphology, taxonomy, Habitat Associations and conservation. Mammal Review, 44(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12001 ]
Distribution and habitat
This species is found in a small area of northeastern
Romania, southwestern
Ukraine, and northwestern
Moldova. Part of its range roughly coincides with the historical region of Bukovina. It inhabits steppe, pastures, cultivated fields, and orchards.
Threats
This species is thought to be threatened by Intensive farming, intensive agriculture, which has been implicated in the decline of the sympatric lesser blind mole-rat (''Nannospalax leucodon'') in the same region. In Transylvania, subsistence agriculture is still practiced, and thus the population appears stable there, but the addition of Romania to the European Union in the 2007 enlargement of the European Union may spur further intensive agriculture within its habitat.
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q851747
Spalax
Rodents of Europe
Mammals described in 1898
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot