The lesser blind mole-rat (''Nannospalax leucodon'') is a species of

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

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, m ...

. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine.

Taxonomy

Prior to 2012, it was classified in the genus ''

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 an ...

'', but modern authors tend to separate this and some closely related mole rat species into a separate genus named '' Nannospalax''. A study of the dentition showed that ''Nannospalax leucodon'' is a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

consisting of several

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

that can be distinguished by the caries in their teeth. According to this definition there are four separate "cariological" forms in the

Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

, one of them endangered and another one vulnerable while insufficient data are available to evaluate the conservation status of the other two forms.

Behavior and ecology

Blind mole-rats are not in fact completely blind as they do possess simple eyes 1mm in diameter and located under a layer of skin and fur. They act effectively as light meters, only sensing the level of available light.

Life expectancy

One study directed towards

life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

used this species by virtue of its incredible longevity performance, hypoxia and

hypercapnia Hypercapnia (from the Greek ''hyper'', "above" or "too much" and ''kapnos'', "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous pro ...

endurance, as well as cancer resistance. Looking at the fecal and skin samples of this ideal candidate, it was found that the Muribaculaceae bacterial family, known to be linked with longevity, dominated fecal samples.

Conservation

The lesser blind mole-rat was declared to be extinct in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in 1984, having been present in the area of Srijem up until the 20th century, but its continued presence in Vučedol was confirmed in 2023.

Gallery

Nannospalax leucodon.jpg Földikutya (Spalax leucodon).jpg

References

* * Németh A, Révay T, Hegyeli Z, Farkas J, Czabán D, Rózsás A, Csorba G 2009
Chromosomal forms and risk assessment of Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon) (Mammalia: Rodentia) in the Carpathian Basin
''Folia Zoologica,'' 58(3), 349–361. {{Taxonbar, from=Q548962 Nannospalax Mammals described in 1840 Taxa named by Alexander von Nordmann Taxonomy articles created by Polbot