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Spalacidae

Family of rodents

Summary

Family of rodents

Spalacinae

Myospalacinae

Rhizomyinae

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, mole-rats, and zokors. This family represents the oldest split (excluding perhaps the Platacanthomyidae) in the muroid superfamily, and comprises animals adapted to a subterranean way of life. These rodents were thought to have evolved adaptations to living underground independently until recent phylogenetic studies demonstrated they form a monophyletic group. Members of the Spalacidae are often placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the Muroidea.

Characteristics

Spalacids are mouse- to rat-sized rodents, adapted to burrowing and living underground. They have short limbs, wedge-shaped skulls, strong neck muscles, large incisor teeth, and small eyes and external ears. In the zokors, which dig primarily with their feet, rather than their teeth, the front claws are also massively enlarged. These features are least extreme in the bamboo rats, which spend at least some of their time above ground, foraging for food. They are most highly developed in the blind mole-rats, whose eyes are completely covered by skin, and entirely lack external ears or tails.

All of the spalacid species dig extensive burrows, which may include storage chambers for food, latrine chambers, and breeding nests. They are generally solitary animals, and do not share their tunnel complexes with other individuals. All the species are herbivores, feeding on roots, bulbs, and tubers.

They give birth to litters of up to six young after a gestation period between three and seven weeks, depending on the species. As with many other muroids, the young are born blind, hairless, and helpless. They may stay with the mother for several months before setting off to establish their own burrows, although some species disperse as soon as they are weaned.

Characteristics

Norris et al. listed several characteristics present in all members of this family which distinguish them from the rest of the muroids, (the clade Eumuroida). These are "the reduction or absence of external eyes, reduced pinnae, stocky body, short tail (

Classification

The spalacids are classified in three subfamilies, six genera, and 37 species.

Family Spalacidae

Subfamily Myospalacinae - zokors
- Genus Myospalax
  - Myospalax myospalax species group
    - False zokor, M. aspalax
    - Siberian zokor, M. myospalax
  - Myospalax psilurus species group
    - Transbaikal zokor, M. psilurus
- Genus Eospalax
  - Chinese zokor, E. fontanierii
  - Rothschild's zokor, E. rothschildi
  - Smith's zokor, E. smithii
Subfamily Rhizomyinae
- Tribe Rhizomyini - bamboo rats
  - Genus Rhizomys
    - Hoary bamboo rat, R. pruinosus
    - Chinese bamboo rat, R. sinensis
    - Large bamboo rat, R. sumatrensis
  - Genus Cannomys
    - Lesser bamboo rat, C. badius
  - †Genus Brachyrhizomys (Miocene to Pleistocene)
- Tribe Tachyoryctini
  - Genus Tachyoryctes - African mole-rats
    - Ankole African mole-rat, T. ankoliae
    - Mianzini African mole-rat, T. annectens
    - Aberdare Mountains African mole-rat, T. audax
    - Demon African mole-rat, T. daemon
    - Kenyan African mole-rat, T. ibeanus
    - Giant root-rat, T. macrocephalus
    - Navivasha African mole-rat, Tachyoryctes naivashae
    - King African mole-rat, T. rex
    - Rwanda African mole-rat, T. ruandae
    - Rudd's African mole-rat, T. ruddi
    - Embi African mole-rat, T. spalacinus
    - Northeast African mole-rat, T. splendens
    - Storey's African mole-rat, T. storeyi
Subfamily Spalacinae - blind mole-rats
- Genus Spalax
  - Mehely's blind mole-rat*, S. antiquus*
  - 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)
  - Greater blind mole-rat, S. microphthalmus
  - Kazakhstan blind mole-rat, S. uralensis
  - Podolsk blind mole-rat, S. zemni
- Genus Nannospalax - small-bodied mole-rats
  - Subgenus Nannospalax
    - Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat, N. ehrenbergi
  - Subgenus Mesospalax
    - Lesser blind mole-rat, N. leucodon
    - Anatolian blind mole-rat or Nehring's blind mole-rat, N. xanthodon

References

Bibliography

Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004. Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276.
Michaux, J., A. Reyes, and F. Catzeflis. 2001. Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: molecular phylogeny of muroid rodents. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17:280-293.
Steppan, S. J., R. A. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004. Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes. Systematic Biology, 53:533-553.

References

{{MSW3
Corbet, Gordon. (1984). "The Encyclopedia of Mammals". Facts on File.
Norris, R.W.. (2004). "The phylogenetic position of the zokors (Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodentia)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
(2024). "Genomic transfers help to decipher the ancient evolution of filoviruses and interactions with vertebrate hosts". PLOS Pathogens.

Wikipedia Source

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