Middle East Blind Mole Rat – Spalax ehrenbergi

Spalax ehrenbergiNehring, 1897

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

"A cluster of allopatric or parapatric species, each primarily diagnosed by unique chromosomal traits but lacking strong attendant morphological or other distinguishing features, expresses the current perception of S. ehrenbergi, and the reason it is referred to as the S. ehrenbergi superspecies (see reviews by Nevo, 1991; Nevo et al., 2001; Savič and Nevo, 1990). For more than 30 years, Israeli populations of this ""superspecies"" have been the subjects of intensive research concerning evolutionary theory and the processes of speciation and adaptive radiation (Nevo, 1991; Nevo et al., 2001). These studies have resulted in the exclusion of ehrenbergi (as historically recognized) from Israel and its replacement by four newly described species (see accounts of S. carmeli, S. galili, S. golani, and S. judaei) that Nevo et al. (2001:20) defined as ""genetically cohesive, interbreeding reproductiv... [truncated]"

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.