Nannospalax ehrenbergi (Nehring, 1898)

Amr, Zuhair S., Abu, Mohammad A., Qumsiyeh, Mazin & Eid, Ehab, 2018, Systematics, distribution and ecological analysis of rodents in Jordan, Zootaxa 4397 (1), pp. 1-94 : 75-76

Nannospalax ehrenbergi (Nehring, 1898)

Common name: Palestine mole rat, the Middle East blind mole rat.

Diagnosis: This is a typical fossorial rodent with cylindrical shape and indistinct neck. Fur is short, soft and nondirectional, color of fur black to dark brown ( Figure 86 ). The flat and broad snout is shovel-like in shape, with a large naked nose pad. Eyes, ears and tail absent. Legs very short, soles of feet naked. Two pairs of mammae. Skull very robust. Long rostrum. Weak, but strongly outward bowed zygomatic arches. Strong developed sagittal crest. Incisors are very conspicuous. Lower incisors very large in comparison to mandible ( Figure 87 ).

Localities: Previous records. Ash Shawbak (Mountfort, 1965), ‘Aqrabā ( Amr et al, 1987); Busayra, Between Jarash and Sūf, Jubeiha, ‘Ibbīn, Ar Ramthā ( Amr & Disi, 1988), Ḑānā Biosphere Reserve (Yousef & Amr, 2005), 10 km NW ‘ Ammān Mountains, Aṭ Ṭafīla, Dhiban, Irbid, Jîza, Karak, NW Mādabā, Mazar, Moab, Mount Nebo, As Salt Mountains, Naur, 10 km N Wādī Al Hassa, 5 km N Wādī Al-Mujib, Wādī Mūsá, Zarqā (Nevo et al., 2000). Materials extracted from owl pellets: Marj Al Hammam (Obuch per. com.); Fuḥeiṣ (Obuch per. com.); Ḑānā Biosphere Reserve (Obuch per. com.), Iraq al Wahaj (Obuch per. com.), Wādī Zarqā Ma’in (Pokines per. com.). New records: Al Hashemeyeh, Ajlūn, Jarash, Petra, Ra’s an Naqb, Umm Al Qiţţayn ( Figure 88 ).

Habitat: This species isconfined to the Mediterranean and semi-Mediterranean biotopes of Jordan. The distribution of the Palestine mole rat is apparently associated with terra rosa soil, the abundant soil type covering the Mediterranean province of Jordan. Its eastern distribution limits extend to around Umm Al Qiţţayn on the fringes of the black lava desert. Ra’s an Naqb represents its most southern range of distribution in the Middle East. This mole is an aggressive fossorial solitary species. Its presence is immediately confirmed by the existence of the variously-sized mounds that reflect its activity in open fields. Burrows are subdivided into three layers; the outer most is for food storage with connections to peripheral feeding tunnels (Nevo, 1961).

Biology: Palestine mole rat feeds on bulbs, roots and subterranean vegetation. Gestation period lasts for about one month and they give birth to 3–4 new born annually.

Remarks: The current taxonomic status of the blind mole rats in the Middle East and Turkey was revised by Arslan et al. (2016) based on chromosomal variation between species and populations of Spalax and Nannospalax . This review indicated the existence of 73 distinct chromosome races recorded in blind mole rats classified within the genus Nannospalax , along with the seven species recognized within the genus Spalax . Within the traditional species classified in the Nannospalax genus, 25 races can be distinguished within N. leucodon , 28 races within N. xanthodon and 20 races within N. ehrenbergi . Karyotyping (2n) for the Jordanian specimens ranged between 60– 62, whereas the NFa was 68–74, and NF 72–78 ( Arslan et al., 2016).

Previous treatments of the species adopted the taxon S. leucodon (Nevo, 1969) and reported several chromosomal species in Palestine. Nevo et al. (2000) studied the karyotype, allozyme, size and ecological diversity across the range of mole rats in Jordan from mesic Irbid in the north to xeric Wādī Mūsá in the south, they examined mole rats for chromosome (N=71), size (N=76), and allozyme (N=67) diversities, encoded by 32 loci, in 12 populations under the taxon Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Jordan. By a combination of chromosome morphology, genetic distance, body size and ecogeography, they identified four new putative biological species. All species (Except two animals in Mādabā) share 2n= 60 but vary in chromosome morphology, caused by pericentric inversions and/or centromeric shifts.

Figures

FIGURE 86. The Palestine mole rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, from ‘Ammān.

FIGURE 87. A. Lateral viewof the skull and mandible (scale bar = 10 mm), and B. Maxillary and mandibular cheekteeth (scale bar = 1 mm) for Nannospalax ehrenbergi.

FIGURE 88.Distribution of the Palestine mole rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi.