''Nannospalax'' is a genus of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Spalacidae The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, mole ...

, found in

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and

western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. It is one of two genera in the

blind mole-rat The blind mole-rats, also known as the fossorial or subterranean mole rats, are a subfamily (Spalacinae) of rodents in the family Spalacidae, found in eastern Europe and western & central Asia. The hystricognath mole-rats of the family Bathyergi ...

s (subfamily

Spalacinae The blind mole-rats, also known as the fossorial or subterranean mole rats, are a subfamily (Spalacinae) of rodents in the family Spalacidae, found in eastern Europe and Western Asia, western & central Asia. The Hystricognathi, hystricognath mole ...

), alongside ''

Spalax ''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''.' Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe a ...

''. Members of this genus are also known as small-bodied mole-rats. As with members of the genus ''Spalax'', they are completely blind, with their eyes being entirely covered by skin.

Taxonomy and evolution

Until 2013, members of this genus were grouped in ''Spalax'', but phylogenetic analysis indicates that both diverged during the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, about 7.6 million years ago, when a marine barrier formed between

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. It also supports two different

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

within this genus; ''Nannospalax sensu stricto'' (containing a single species) and ''Mesospalax'', which diverged from each other during the late Miocene or early Pliocene, after the uplift of the

Anatolian Plateau The Anatolian Plateau () is a plateau that occupies most of Turkey's surface area. The elevation of the plateau ranges from 600 to 1,200 meters (2,000 to 4,000 ft). Mount Erciyes near Kayseri is the peak at 3,917 m (12,851 ft). An ...

''.'' Members of this genus are notable for their extreme chromosomal diversity, some of which may represent as-of-yet unrecognized species-level taxa. Genetic analysis indicates distinct periods of diversification among spalacids that correspond with climactic changes caused by

Milankovitch cycles Milankovitch cycles describe the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements on its climate over thousands of years. The term was coined and named after Serbian geophysicist and astronomer Milutin Milanković. In the 1920s, he hypot ...

Species

There are three species in this genus in two subgenera: * Genus ''Nannospalax'' ** Subgenus ''Nannospalax'' ***

Middle East blind mole-rat The Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat (''Nannospalax ehrenbergi'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. Taxonomy It was formerly classified in the genus ''Spalax'', but more recent phylogenetic evidence supports it a ...

or Palestine mole-rat, ''N. ehrenbergi'' ** Subgenus ''Mesospalax'' ***

Lesser blind mole-rat The lesser blind mole-rat (''Spalax leucodon'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine. Prior to 20 ...

, ''N. leucodon'' *** Anatolian blind mole-rat or Nehring's blind mole-rat, ''N. xanthodon'' Some authorities, including

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

and

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

, have split out four species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and surrounding regions from ''N. ehrenbergi'' based on chromosomal divergence reported by the research of the Institute of Evolution at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

: *

Mount Carmel blind mole-rat The Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat (''Nannospalax ehrenbergi'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. Taxonomy It was formerly classified in the genus ''Spalax'', but more recent phylogenetic evidence supports it a ...

(''N. carmeli'') * Golan Heights blind mole-rat (''N. golani'') * Upper Galilee Mountains blind mole-rat (''N. galili'') *

Judean Mountains blind mole-rat The Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat (''Nannospalax ehrenbergi'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. Taxonomy It was formerly classified in the genus ''Spalax'', but more recent phylogenetic evidence supports it a ...

(''N. judaei''). However, 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 the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

presently group these within ''N. ehrenbergi'' due to taxonomic uncertainty.

References

{{Reflist Rodent genera Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Theodore Sherman Palmer