Middle East blind mole-rat

Appearance

The Palestinian mole-rat weighs 100–200 grams. It has light gray fur and four sharp teeth, two large teeth in the upper jaw and two smaller teeth in the lower jaw. It has a life span of up to 20 years and is notable for its adaptability to severe lack of oxygen. In Israel, the blind mole-rat is a major agricultural pest. It digs long tunnels up to 80 centimeters deep and stores onions and tubers in underground chambers. The exceptional ecological adaptation strategies of the blind mole-rats can be seen in their different tongue morphologies, as evidenced by their tongue papillae. The tongue papillae differ between individuals in a species to adapt to different environmental regions with variant soil characteristics and food types.

Naming

Cytogenetic studies have shown "N. ehrenbergi" in Israel may actually be a species complex containing several cryptic species with chromosome numbers 2n=52, 2n=54, 2n=58 and 2n=60. Close to the 'border line' of the niche of each subspecies there is mating between individuals from different subspecies/different 2n chromosome number. Birth of fertile offspring implies that speciation of the subspecies has not been completed.

In 2001, four new "Nannospalax" species endemic to geographical regions within Israel, Palestine and the Golan Heights were described based on chromosome divergence by a team of researchers led by Eviatar Nevo. These were:

⤷  The Mount Carmel blind mole-rat - endemic to Mount Carmel in northern Israel, including the vicinity of Afik, Kabri, and Tzippori settlements.
⤷  The Upper Galilee Mountains blind mole rat - endemic to Upper Galilee in northern Israel, including the vicinity of Kerem Ben Zimra settlement.
⤷  The Golan Heights blind mole-rat - endemic to the Golan Heights, including the vicinity of Mount Hermon, Quneitra and Eliad.
⤷  The Judean Mountains blind mole-rat - endemic to the Judaean Mountains in central Israel and Palestine, including the vicinity of Kibbutz Lahav.

Although the ITIS and Mammal Species of the World still recognize these species, the American Society of Mammalogists and the IUCN Red List presently group these within "N. ehrenbergi" due to taxonomic uncertainty, such as lack of convincing genetic support for speciation, and the type locality of "ehrenbergi" itself likely falling within the range of one of these species.

Distribution

"N. ehrenbergi" is found in Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and the Levant.

Habitat

The natural habitat of the mole is Mediterranean-type shrubbish vegetation, and it is threatened by habitat loss.