Spalax Guldenstaedt 1770

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Spalacidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 907-926 : 907

Spalax Guldenstaedt 1770

Spalax Guldenstaedt 1770 , Nova Comm. Acad. Sci. Petropoli, ser. 14, 1: 410.

Type Species: Spalax microphthalmus Guldenstaedt 1770

Synonyms: Anotis Rafinesque 1815 ; Aspalax Desmarest 1804 ; Macrospalax Méhely 1909 ; Mesospalax Méheley 1909 ; Microspalax Méhely 1909 ; Nannospalax Palmer 1903 ; Ommatostergus Nordmann 1840 ; Talpoides Lacepède 1799 ; Ujhelyiana Strand 1922 .

Species and subspecies: 13 species:

Species Spalax arenarius Reshetnik 1939

Species Spalax carmeli Nevo, Ivanitskaya, and Beiles 2001

Species Spalax ehrenbergi Nehring 1897

Species Spalax galili Nevo, Ivanitskaya, and Beiles 2001

Species Spalax giganteus Nehring 1898

Species Spalax golani Nevo, Ivanitskaya, and Beiles 2001

Species Spalax graecus Nehring 1898

Species Spalax judaei Nevo, Ivanitskaya, and Beiles 2001

Species Spalax leucodon Nordmann 1840

Species Spalax microphthalmus Guldenstaedt 1770

Species Spalax nehringi Satunin 1898

Species Spalax uralensis Tiflov and Usov 1939

Species Spalax zemni Erxleben 1777

Discussion: Vorontsov et al. (1977 b) distinguished four species groups based upon biochemical data: the monotypic S. nehringi , S. leucodon , and S. microphthalmus groups, and the last containing S. graecus , S. polonicus , S. arenarius , and S. giganteus . The species discriminated biochemically are the same as those defined by Ognev (1963 a) and Topachevskii (1969) using morphological traits and by Lyapunova et al. (1974) using chromosomal evidence. To these seven was added S. ehrenbergi . Although Savič and Nevo (1990:133) acknowledged eight extant species, they concluded that the systematics is unrealistic because "it is based primarily on classical morphology, ignoring the central phenomenon of Spalacid evolution, i.e., chromosomal speciation which suggests that more than 30 living karyotypes, or species have been described and the end is not yet in sight." Based upon new information published since 1993 or reinterpretation of older data, we add five additional species, realizing that 13 likely underestimates actual species diversity in Spalax , for Nevo et al. (1995:226) later remarked that the "40-50 karyotypes described in Spalacidae … represent presumptive good biological sibling species" and that "the morphological species concept does not hold in Spalax ."

Peshev (1989 a, b) illuminated interspecific differences among five species, as well as sexual dimorphism within each, using morphometric techniques. The cephalic arterial system and its phylogenetic significance was described by Bugge (1971 a, 1985), and aspects of various morphological systems, particularly masseter musculature and gastrointestinal structure, summarized by Vorontsov (1979, 1982). Pasichnyk (1992) contrasted structure and function of the maxillary region in several species of Spalax , contrasting them with Ellobius , Rhombomys , Rattus , and Cricetus . Zagorodnyuk (1992 b) discussed taxonomic status of names based on Ukrainian samples. Evolutionary history of Spalax extends from the early Pliocene of Europe ( Kowalski, 2001; Topachevskii et al., 1998), Pleistocene of North Africa, and middle Pleistocene of SW Asia ( McKenna and Bell, 1997; see reviews in Nevo et al., 2001, and Ünay, 1999).