The Podolsk blind mole-rat or Podolian mole-rat (''Spalax zemni'') is a species 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 ...

. It is

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 ...

to western and central

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Distribution and habitat

It has a wide but severely fragmented range throughout Ukraine, ranging from the near the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

south to near the border with

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, and east to central Ukraine. It primarily inhabits undeveloped

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

habitat, but also side roads, forest belts, agricultural fields, and even former military firing ranges. Spalax zemni 26623146

Status

This species has a highly fragmented population, and the relatively wide range that this species is thought to have throughout Ukraine may be an overestimate for this reason. Data suggests that it has been declining since historical times due to shrinking of the steppe habitat, and it has been considered a rare species since the end of the 19th century. It is thought to be threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

due to cultivation and development, and is classified as Vulnerable on 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 ...

References

* *http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/ema/species/spalax_zemni.htm Spalax Rodents of Europe Endemic fauna of Ukraine Mammals described in 1777 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{muroid-stub