Balkan Blind Mole Rat – Spalax graecus

Spalax graecusNehring, 1898

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

Included in S. microphthalmus by Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951) and Corbet (1978c), but arranged as a distinctive species by Topachevskii (1969) and so listed by Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987, 1998) and Pavlinov et al. (1995a). Savič (1982d) reviewed in detail the European segment; Gromov and Erbajeva (1995) discussed the portion the Ukraine. Topachevskii (1969) recognized istricus, apparently restricted to Romania, as a subspecies, and Murariu and Torcea (1984) separated it as a species based on cranial traits. Their sample, however, was small, and traits believed to discriminate istricus from S. graecus should be reassessed using larger samples from both Romania and the Ukraine. Chromosomal traits (2n = 62, FN = 124) illuminated by Lyapunova et al. (1974).

• 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.