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Spalax
	Greater blind mole-rat (S. microphthalmus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Spalacidae
Subfamily:	Spalacinae
Genus:	Spalax; Güldenstädt, 1770
Type species
	Spalax microphthalmus; Güldenstädt, 1770
Species
	Spalax antiquus; Spalax arenarius; Spalax giganteus; Spalax graecus; Spalax istricus; Spalax microphthalmus; Spalax uralensis; Spalax zemni

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.^[2]

Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe and western & central Asia.^[3] They are completely blind and have a subterranean lifestyle.^[4]

Taxonomy

Prior to 2013, Spalax was widely considered the only member of Spalacinae, with all blind mole-rat species being grouped within it. However, phylogenetic and morphological evidence supported some of the species within it forming a distinct lineage that diverged from the others during the Late Miocene, when a marine barrier formed between Anatolia and the Balkans. These species were reclassified into the genus Nannospalax, making Spalax one of two extant spalacine genera.^[2]

Species of genus Spalax

Mehely's blind mole-rat, S. antiquus^[5]
Sandy blind mole-rat, S. arenarius
Giant blind mole-rat, S. giganteus
Bukovina blind mole-rat, S. graecus
Oltenia blind mole-rat, S. istricus (possibly extinct)^[5]
Greater blind mole-rat, S. microphthalmus
Kazakhstan blind mole-rat, S. uralensis
Podolsk blind mole-rat, S. zemni

References

^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ ^a ^b Hadid, Yarin; Németh, Attila; Snir, Sagi; Pavlíček, Tomáš; Csorba, Gábor; Kázmér, Miklós; Major, Ágnes; Mezhzherin, Sergey; Rusin, Mikhail; Coşkun, Yüksel; Nevo, Eviatar (2012-01-09). "Is Evolution of Blind Mole Rats Determined by Climate Oscillations?". PLOS ONE. 7 (1): e30043. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730043H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030043. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3253805. PMID 22253871.
^ Database, Mammal Diversity (2022-02-01), Mammal Diversity Database, doi:10.5281/zenodo.5945626, retrieved 2022-03-08
^ Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste (1809). Philosophie zoologique ou exposition des considérations relatives à l'histoire naturelle des animaux. Dentu.
^ ^a ^b Németh, Attila; Homonnay, Zalán G.; Krízsik, Virág; Csorba, Máté; Pavlíček, Tomáš; Hegyeli, Zsolt; Hadid, Yarin; Sugár, Szilárd; Farkas, János; Csorba, Gábor (2013). "Old views and new insights: taxonomic revision of the Bukovina blind mole rat, Spalax graecus (Rodentia: Spalacinae)" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 169 (4): 903–914. doi:10.1111/zoj.12081. S2CID 82892241.

Jansa, S. A.; Weksler, M. (2004). "Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (1): 256–76. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.002. PMID 15019624.
Michaux, J.; Reyes, A.; Catzeflis, F. (2001). "Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: molecular phylogeny of muroid rodents". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 18 (11): 2017–2031. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003743. PMID 11606698.
Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea." pp. 894–1531 in Wilson, D. E. and D. M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Norris, R. W.; Zhou, K. Y.; Zhou, C. Q.; Yang, G.; Kilpatrick, C. W.; Honeycutt, R. L. (2004). "The phylogenetic position of the zokors (Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodentia)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 972–978. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.020. PMID 15120394.
Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World, II. London: Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8
Steppan, S. J.; Adkins, R. A.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes". Systematic Biology. 53 (4): 533–553. doi:10.1080/10635150490468701. PMID 15371245.
Topachevskii, V. A. (1976) Fauna of the USSR. Volume III: Mammals. Issue 3: Mole rats, Spalacidae. New Delhi: Amerind.
Manov, Irena; Hirsh, Mark; Iancu, Theodore C; Malik, Assaf; Sotnichenko, Nick; Band, Mark; Avivi, Aaron; Shams, Imad (2013). "Pronounced cancer resistance in a subterranean rodent, the blind mole-rat, Spalax: in vivo and in vitro evidence". BMC Biology. 11: 91. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-11-91. PMC 3750378. PMID 23937926.