Spalax istricus, Mehely, 1909

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Spalacidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 108-142 : 137

18.

Oltenia Blind Mole-rat

Spalax istricus

French: Spalax d'Olténie / German: Oltenien-Blindmaus / Spanish: Rata topo ciega de Oltenia

Taxonomy. Spalax istricus Méhely, 1909 ,

Barza , Olt County, Romania.

L. Méhely in 1909 designated three syntypes from three different localities. G. S. Miller in 1912 restricted the type locality to Barza, and G. Csorba and A. Demeter in 1991 designated the specimen from Barza as the lectotype. Spalax istricus isa member of the S. graecus species group, which is characterized by elongated nasal bones and higher position ofsella externa of the mandible relative to sella interna. Spalax istricus was traditionally united with S. graecus and S. antiquus into a single species, S. graecus . Spalax istricus was usually treated as a synonym of S. graecus or united with S. antiquus as a distinct subspecies, S. g. istricus . In an analysis of mtDNA, A. Németh and colleagues in 2013 demonstrated that S. graecus and S. antiquus exhibit considerable genetic divergence that was comparable to species-level differences among other species of Spalax. They also demonstrated clear morphological differences among S. graecus , S. antiqguus, and S. istricus that led to their conclusion that these represent three distinct species. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Romania.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c.242 mm, no visible external tail. No specific data are available for body weight. Color of the Oltenia Blind Mole-rat is variable; in the original description, it was referred to as reddish brown above and rust-colored below. According to Németh and colleagues in 2013, the Oltenia Blind Mole-rat differs from the other members of the S. graecus group in having a rostrum that is narrowed above but wider ventrally.

Habitat. Steppes,fields, and orchards of Oltenia and Muntenia, Romania.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List (under S. graecus ). Additional careful assessment of the Oltenia Blind Mole-rat separate from the Bukovina Blind Mole-rat ( S. graecus ) and Mehely’s Blind Mole-rat (S. antiquus) is needed. The Oltenia Blind Mole-rat has not been recorded in 30 years and appears to be extremely rare or extinct.

Bibliography. Chisamera et al. (2014), Csorba & Demeter (1991), Hadid et al. (2012), Krystufek (1999a), Méhely (1909), Miller (1912a), Murariu & Torcea (1984), Musser & Carleton (2005), Németh et al. (2013), Topachevskii (1969), Zagorodnyuk & Coroiu (2008).

Figures

1. Altai Zokor (Myospalax myospalax), 2. Steppe Zokor (Myospalax aspalax), 3. Armand’s Zokor (Mpyospalax armandii), 4. Manchurian Zokor (Myospalax psilurus), 5. Khingan Zokor (Myospalax epsilanus), 6. Fontanier’s Zokor (FEospalax fontaniern), 7. Gansu Zokor (Fospalax cansus), 8. Qinling Zokor (Fospalax rufescens), 9. Plateau Zokor (FEospalax bailey), 10. Rothschild’s Zokor (Eospalax rothschildi), 11. Smith’s Zokor (Eospalax smithu), 12. Chinese Bamboo Rat (Rhizomys sinensis), 13. Hoary Bamboo Rat (Rhizomys pruinosus), 14. Indomalayan Bamboo Rat (Rhizomys sumatrensis), 15. Lesser Bamboo Rat (Cannomys badius), 16. African Root Rat (Tachyoryctes splendens), 17. Giant Root Rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus), 18. Oltenia Blind Mole-rat (Spalax istricus), 19. Mehely’s Blind Mole-rat (Spalax antiquus), 20. Bukovina Blind Mole-rat (Spalax graecus), 21. Podolsk Blind Mole-rat (Spalax zemni), 22. Sandy Blind Mole-rat (Spalax arenarius), 23. Greater Blind Mole-rat (Spalax microphthalmus), 24. Giant Blind Mole-rat (Spalax giganteus), 25. Kazakhstan Blind Mole-rat (Spalax uralensis), 26. Lesser Blind Mole-rat (Nannospalax leucodon), 27. Anatolian Blind Mole-rat (Nannospalax xanthodon), 28. Middle East Blind Mole-rat (Nannospalax ehrenbergi)

Distribution. S Romania.